U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Halts Harmful Predator Control Methods on Alaska Refuges

Sport and subsistence hunting is permissible on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska under the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The State of Alaska Board of Game has management authority over wildlife in the state, including on federal refuge land, but only insofar as state practices do not conflict with federal regulations. In recent years, the Board has increasingly utilized archaic predator control methods like bear baiting, shooting wolves and coyotes during denning season, and shooting bears from aircraft. While ostensibly to increase populations of moose, caribou, elk and other ungulate species, these practices do not reflect the best available science and diminish the overall diversity of wildlife on Alaska’s refuges.

Bears and wolves are integral components of the ecosystem in Alaska’s refuges, and are iconic symbols of wilderness. This past spring and summer, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service underwent a rulemaking process to prohibit these aggressive predator control measures on Alaska’s refuges. Audubon Alaska wrote a comment letter in support of the proposal, and on August 5, 2016 the agency published its final rule. Audubon continues to monitor bills pending in Congress that would prevent the rule from taking effect. In places like Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, predator populations and wildlife ecology may now look forward to a brighter future.