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Trump Administration Opens Door to Bear Baiting, Den Hunting in Alaska Preserves
The National Park Service finalized a regulation that abdicates the agency's responsibility to manage wildlife in Alaska's national preserves, deferring instead to state regulations. Defenders of Wildlife condemns the rule, which mirrors a 2020 regulation promulgated by the first Trump administration that was later withdrawn and replaced in 2024.
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Grizzly Bear Proposal Leaves More Questions Than Answers
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a proposed rule recommending revisions to protective regulations for grizzly bears under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act; Defenders will continue review of the rule to identify key details that remain undefined.
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House Set to Vote on Misleading Bill Blocking Regulation of Lead Ammunition on Federal Lands
The United States House of Representatives is expected this Wednesday to vote on H.R. 556 – Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025.
More Grizzly Bear Press Releases
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U.S. Supreme Court Chooses Not to Hear Kenai Bear-baiting Case
The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately chose not to hear a challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) authority to manage wildlife on national wildlife refuge land. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had upheld a 2016 FWS regulation that, among other things, prohibits brown bear baiting on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Status Review of Grizzly Bears
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it will begin a comprehensive Endangered Species Act (ESA) status review of the grizzly bear in two specific regions of the lower 48 states. The announcement, in today’s Federal Register, follows the agency’s review of three petitions to delist the bear, two of which they say presented “substantial, credible information” that may warrant action.
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New Research Shows 80% of Voters Polled Support Big Funding Increases for the National Wildlife Refuge System
New public opinion research from Defenders of Wildlife reveals that 80% of voters polled support increasing funding for the National Wildlife Refuge System, the nation’s only system of lands dedicated to wildlife conservation.
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Wildlife Advocates Applaud Restart of Process to Return Grizzly Bears to North Cascades
Conservation groups and other wildlife advocates applaud the Biden administration’s announcement today that it is restarting the process required to return grizzly bears to the North Cascades Ecosystem (NCE) - a large network of mostly protected public lands that spans from northwest Washington State into British Columbia and includes North Cascades National Park.
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Court Finds Cruel Practice of Killing Wolf Pups and Bear Cubs on Alaska’s National Preserves ‘Arbitrary’
A federal District Court in Alaska ruled on Sept. 30 that a National Park Service rule allowing hunting practices like killing brown bear sows and cubs in their dens on national preserves in Alaska was poorly reasoned and arbitrary. The decision allows the rule to remain in place while the Interior Department and Park Service revise regulations.
jcovey@defenders.org
