On April 3, President Donald Trump signed House Joint (H.J.) Resolution 69, which officially nullified a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule that restricted the state of Alaska’s ability to manage fish and wildlife on National Wildlife Refuges.
H.J. Resolution 69 was passed with a bipartisan vote in the U.S. House in February and by the Senate in March, and is supported by the sportsmen’s community and the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses Executive Council. In addition, this Resolution is supported by Alaska Congressman Don Young and Alaska’s Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, all members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus.
The FWS rule, “Non-Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska,” undermined Alaska state management authority, which is Congressionally affirmed within the Alaska Statehood Act, the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act, and the National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act.
Recently, anti-sportsmen’s groups have promoted to the media that removing the FWS rule is detrimental to wildlife in Alaska; however nullifying this Rule simply reaffirms the state’s management authority that has successfully managed Alaska’s wildlife in the past.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
