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Trump administration lifts bear baiting ban in Alaska national preserves

Trump administration lifts bear baiting ban in Alaska national preserves

Rule Changes

Final rule takes effect November 18, reversing the 2024 Biden-era prohibition across millions of acres

2 days ago: Rule published in Federal Register

Overview

Updated Yesterday

A new federal rule lets sport hunters lure bears onto bait piles in Alaska's national preserves — bacon, doughnuts, meat scraps — and shoot them at close range. The National Park Service finalized the rule in mid-October, replacing a 2024 Biden administration ban.

The rule restores a framework that has flipped with each change in power since 2015. Animal welfare groups, which have litigated the issue through three administrations, plan to sue again, arguing baiting conditions bears to human food and makes them dangerous around people.

Why it matters

Baiting trains bears to associate people with food, making them bolder near visitors — opponents say the rule puts tourists in Alaska's preserves at risk.

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Key Indicators

5
Rule reversals on bear baiting since 2015
Banned in 2015, restored in 2020, banned again in 2024, restored in 2026 — five regulatory changes in eleven years.
30
Days from publication to effective date
The rule, published in the Federal Register in October, takes effect November 18, 2026.

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People Involved

Donald Trump
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Issued executive order directing the rule change
 Doug Burgum
Doug Burgum
Secretary of the Interior
Issued Secretary's Order 3422 directing the rollback
 Drew Robertson
Drew Robertson
Senior regulatory specialist, Humane World for Animals
Opposing the rule

Organizations Involved

National Park Service
National Park Service
Federal Agency
Finalized the 2026 rule

Manages Alaska's national parks and preserves, where it regulates sport hunting and trapping.
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
Federal Cabinet Department
Oversees the National Park Service

Federal department managing public lands and natural resources, including national parks.
Humane World for Animals
Humane World for Animals
Nonprofit
Opposing the rule; plans legal challenge

Global animal protection organization with regulatory staff tracking federal wildlife rules.
Defenders of Wildlife
Defenders of Wildlife
Nonprofit
Opposing the rule

Wildlife conservation organization focused on protecting native species and habitats.

Timeline

December 1980 November 2026

10 events Latest: 2 days ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Rule takes effect

    Upcoming Regulation

    Bear baiting becomes legal again in Alaska national preserves for sport hunters, 30 days after publication.

  2. Rule published in Federal Register

    Latest Regulation

    The Interior Department publishes the final rule, which replaces the 2024 ban and takes effect November 18, 2026.

  3. NPS finalizes the rule

    Regulation

    The final rule restores state-authorized methods including bear baiting and den hunting in national preserves.

  4. NPS proposes the rollback

    Regulation

    The National Park Service proposes restoring state-authorized hunting methods, including bear baiting.

  5. Trump issues Executive Order 14153

    Executive Action

    On his first day back in office, Trump directs the Interior Department to rescind the 2024 rule.

  6. Biden administration restores ban

    Regulation

    The National Park Service reinstates the bear baiting prohibition after years of litigation.

  7. First Trump administration rescinds ban

    Regulation

    The 2015 baiting ban is removed. Environmental groups challenge the rollback in court and win twice.

  8. NPS adds permits and bait restrictions

    Regulation

    Permits required for collecting animal parts for handicrafts; subsistence bear baiting limited to natural or legally harvested remains.

  9. Obama-era NPS prohibits bear baiting

    Regulation

    The National Park Service bans bear baiting on Alaska's national preserves.

  10. ANILCA signed into law

    Legal

    The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act establishes federal subsistence priority and the National Park Service's management role in Alaska.

Scenarios

1

Court blocks bear baiting rule before 2027 season

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Humane World for Animals, Animal Wellness Action, Defenders of Wildlife

Animal welfare groups announced lawsuits within days of the rule's publication. A federal court could issue a preliminary injunction or vacate the rule, as courts did twice during the 2020–2022 litigation over the first Trump rollback. The same legal arguments — that baiting conditions bears to human food and creates public safety hazards — would anchor the challenge.

2

Rule survives; bear baiting continues through 2027 season

Likely Resolves by Nov 30, 2027

Discussed by: Alaska state officials, sport hunting groups like Safari Club International

If courts decline to block the rule, bear baiting proceeds in Alaska's national preserves under state regulations, which allow human foods like doughnuts and bacon as bait. The federal rule defers to state rules on allowed bait, meaning the practice continues until a new administration or court changes course.

3

Next administration or Congress restores the ban

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Democratic lawmakers and wildlife protection groups

The policy has tracked the party in power for a decade: banned in 2015 under Obama, restored in 2020 under Trump, banned in 2024 under Biden, restored in 2026. A Democratic victory in the 2028 presidential election would likely trigger another reversal, or Congress could legislate a permanent answer.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1872–1970

Yellowstone's garbage dumps and bear feeding (1872–1970)

For decades, bears in Yellowstone National Park fed on garbage at open dumps, drawing crowds who watched them from bleachers. The practice conditioned bears to human food and produced a steady stream of bear-human conflicts, including maulings of visitors.

Then

The park closed its dumps in 1970, forcing bears to forage naturally and sharply reducing bear-human incidents.

Now

The episode became the founding lesson of modern bear management: feeding bears human food makes them dangerous, and the infrastructure enabling it must be removed entirely.

Why this matters now

Opponents of bear baiting invoke this exact mechanism — bait piles teach bears to associate people with food, which they say creates hazards for visitors to Alaska's preserves.

2009–2011

Gray wolf delisting battles (2009–2011)

Federal protection of gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains flip-flopped through court rulings and administrative changes for years. In 2011, Congress attached a rider to a federal budget bill that stripped wolf protections in Montana and Idaho, bypassing the courts entirely.

Then

State wolf hunts resumed in Montana and Idaho within months of the rider's passage.

Now

The episode showed that wildlife management decisions could be settled by a single legislative or executive act, overriding years of administrative process and litigation.

Why this matters now

Alaska bear baiting follows the same pattern — each change in administration or Congress reverses the previous policy, regardless of court outcomes in the interim.

Sources

(11)
+5
The Guardian Federal Register U.S. Department of the Interior Alaska Beacon Society of Environmental Journalists People Defenders of Wildlife Humane World for Animals RNAnews Animal Wellness Action Lemmy.World