CE for Wildlife Regulations

This CE (A.8) covers a National Park Service (NPS) proposal to publish a final rule that:

(1) Affirms current State prohibitions on harvest practices by adopting them as federal regulation;
(2) Prohibits taking of caribou that are swimming, or from a motorboat that is under power, in two game management units (GMU) by not adopting a narrow state exception to the general prohibition of these methods of harvest;
(3) Prohibits intentionally obstructing or hindering persons actively engaged in lawful hunting or trapping;
(4) Updates procedures for implementing closures or restrictions in park areas, including taking fish and wildlife for sport purposes; and,
(5) Allows the use of native species as bait for fishing in accordance with applicable federal and non-conflicting State law.

The rule also prohibits taking wildlife, hunting or trapping activities, or management actions involving predator reduction efforts with the intent or potential to alter or manipulate natural predator-prey dynamics and associated natural ecological processes to increase harvest of ungulates by humans on NPS-managed lands. The rule prohibits the following activities that have been allowed under State law: (1) taking any black bear, including cubs and sows with cubs, with artificial light at den sites; (2) taking brown bears and black bears over bait; (3) taking wolves and coyotes during the denning season; and (4) using dogs to hunt black bears by state permit. This proposed action is analyzed in the Environmental Assessment for Wildlife Harvest on National Park System Preserves in Alaska (PEPC 49062) and is not covered by this categorical exclusion.

Document Content:

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