News Release

National Park Service Releases Environmental Assessment on Proposed Amendment to Alaska Sport Hunting Regulations

Date: September 5, 2018
Contact: Peter Christian

Assessment available for public review and comment until November 5, 2018

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The National Park Service (NPS) today released an environmental assessment (EA) that evaluates the possible impacts of a proposal to amend its regulations for sport hunting and trapping on national preserves in Alaska. The proposal would establish better consistency with state regulations by removing regulatory provisions issued in 2015 that prohibit certain hunting practices that are otherwise permitted by the State of Alaska.

Since the 2015 provisions were implemented, the Department of the Interior has issued two Secretarial Orders directing greater collaboration with state, tribal, and territorial partners in the management of recreational hunting and trapping on Department managed lands and waters.

The proposed amendments to regulations would only apply to hunting on Alaska national preserves. National Parks in Alaska would not be affected by the proposed changes.

The EA is a separate document from the proposed rule, which the NPS released for public comment on May 22, 2018. The public comment period for the EA, which informs the rulemaking process, opens tomorrow, September 6, for a 60-day public review period until November 5, 2018.  The comment period for the proposed rule will be extended to match the deadline for comments on the EA. The public is encouraged to submit comments on the EA through the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website.

Comments may also be mailed or hand delivered to:
 

Sport Hunting and Trapping in National Preserves EA
Alaska Regional Office, EPC
240 West 5th Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501

Comments will not be accepted by fax, email, or by any method other than those specified above. Bulk comments in any format (hard copy or electronic) submitted on behalf of others will not be accepted. Before including an address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in a comment, commenters should be aware that the entire comment and personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. Commenters can request that personal identifying information be withheld from public review, but the NPS cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.