The National Park Service is proposing an amendment to the rules governing hunting, fishing, and trapping in units of the National Park System in Alaska, including National Parks and Preserves. These rules govern the use of hunting methods within parks, such as bear baiting, and have been revised repeatedly over the years, including in 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2024. This new proposed rule would revoke changes made since 2015 and return the regulatory framework to what existed before the 2015 rule. 

Importantly, the 2015 rule restricted subsistence harvesting in units of the Park System to rural residents who qualify under the rural subsistence priority in ANILCA Title VIII. This new rule would allow for state management of subsistence hunting within units of the Park System. Under state law, all Alaskan residents are considered subsistence users, and the State cannot implement the federal rural subsistence priority. 

This proposed rule is open for comment until Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 7:59 p.m. AKDT (11:59 p.m. EST). The Alaska Federation of Natives encourages you to review the proposed changes and submit comments in defense of ANILCA and the rural subsistence priority. 

For more information and ways to submit your comments, please visit here or click the button below.

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