Federal Rule Reopens Bear Baiting on Alaska Lands Starting Next Month

Hunters on federal land in Alaska will be able to bait bears with food starting in mid-November, after the Interior Department published a new rule in the federal register. The rule permits the use of human foods such as bacon, doughnuts and meat scraps to draw bears to a location, a practice used to kill trophy animals at close range. It replaces a 2024 rule issued under the Biden administration that prohibited the practice.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a press release that the rule addresses requests from Alaska residents, calling it a commonsense framework that gives Alaskans a stronger voice in decisions affecting the lands, wildlife and traditions they know best. The federal rule does not list specific foods and instead defers to state regulations, which permit baiting.

Nicholas Arrivo, a managing attorney at Animal Protection Law, said hunters generally choose the cheapest and most effective food, which is high fat and high sugar. He said hunters place the food in a steel drum or garbage can, keep watch over it, and shoot the bear at short range from a nearby blind. Drew Robertson, senior regulatory specialist for Humane World for Animals, called the baiting provision cruel and dangerous, not only to wildlife but the public as well, and said many hunters would not see the practice as a fair chase.

Critics also point to the process behind the rule. Robertson said the measure stems from an executive order signed by Donald Trump early in his second administration, titled Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential, and argued that the directive to reissue the rule points to a political motive rather than careful consideration. Environmental groups have called the new measure indefensible and inexcusable. Arrivo said scrapping the 2024 rule, which went through a more robust scientific process, raises questions about the legality of this rule. No decision has been made on a lawsuit.

The baiting question has shifted across administrations. The Obama administration first imposed a ban, the first Trump administration reversed it, and litigation upheld the Obama rule while overturning the Trump rule. The Biden administration reinstated the ban in 2024, largely because science indicates baiting makes bears more aggressive and endangers park visitors. About a dozen states allow similar practices. Arrivo said the approach is anathema to federal land management goals of preserving wildlife diversity, noting that the lands are federal and Congress created the federal land program to place decision-making power with the federal government.