Ninth Circuit Court upholds prohibition of brown bear baiting in the Kenai Refuge
Ruling protects Kenai brown bears and maintains the Skilak recreation area for wildlife viewing
Alaska Wildlife Alliance and our coalition partners celebrated a U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision today that upheld a 2016 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service rule that enshrines the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s long-standing prohibition on brown bear baiting, along with its decades-long approach of managing the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area for wildlife viewing and education.
The decision confirms that the Fish & Wildlife Service necessarily has the authority to manage wildlife on lands it oversees and to set management priorities within Refuges.
“We believe that the Fish & Wildlife Service is obligated to protect Kenai brown bears on the Refuge and this opinion recognizes the agency’s authority to do just that,” said Nicole Schmitt, executive director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. “At a time when so many of Alaska’s wildlife protections are being rolled back, this ruling comes as a sigh of relief for all those who enjoy the Refuge and its wildlife.”
“The court soundly rejected repeated attempts by the State of Alaska and Safari Club trophy hunters to decimate the iconic wildlife populations of our magnificent Kenai National Wildlife Refuge," said Dr. David C. Raskin, president of the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges. "The science-based regulations in the 2016 Kenai rule uphold the legal obligation of the Fish & Wildlife Service to maintain wildlife populations in their natural diversity. This is a great victory for intelligent management for the long-term benefit of wildlife for all Americans to enjoy and cherish.”
In its ruling in Safari Club International v. Haaland, released on April 18, the Ninth Circuit Court upheld the rule, which included a ban on brown bear baiting and emphasis on wildlife viewing in the Skilak area.
“This decision affirms the authority of Fish & Wildlife Service to manage wildlife refuges to protect wildlife diversity and an array of Refuge users,” said Rachel Briggs, staff attorney with Trustees for Alaska. “The ruling means that the Kenai Refuge will continue to function as a true refuge for vulnerable Kenai brown bears and other species.”
The nonprofit law firm Trustees for Alaska intervened in the case on behalf of Alaska Wildlife Alliance and 14 coalition clients defending the rule alongside the Fish & Wildlife Service and arguing that the agency has an obligation to manage wildlife refuges for biological health and diversity, and necessarily has the authority to do so.
The Ninth Circuit’s decision upholds Fish & Wildlife Service’s authority and duty to protect a natural diversity of wildlife, which includes precluding hunting practices like brown bear baiting that result in the overharvest of bears and public safety risks related to baiting practices. The Court flatly rejected the State and Safari Club’s arguments that Alaska’s Statehood Act and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act allowed the State to manage hunting in the Kenai Refuge. It reaffirmed that “the federal government, and not a single state, has control over federal lands which benefit the entire country.”
The Court upheld the Service’s Kenai Rule as entirely reasonable under the Administrative Procedure Act. It also upheld the Rule as consistent with the laws governing the National Wildlife Refuge System and Alaska Refuges.
Trustees represents the following clients in the case: The Alaska Wildlife Alliance, Alaskans for Wildlife, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, Denali Citizens Council, Copper Country Alliance, Kachemak Bay Conservation Society, Defenders of Wildlife, National Parks Conservation Association, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, The Wilderness Society, Wilderness Watch, Alaska Chapter of the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Humane Society of the United States.
Thank you to Trustees for Alaska for their pro bono representation on this lawsuit, and thank you to our coalition partners! Finally, a big thank you to the AWA members who made this possible!
