ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Hunting restrictions put in place within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge three years ago were challenged in a lawsuit filed Monday by the State of Alaska.

The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance claims the rules, established in 2015 and 2016, are “an illegal federal overreach of the State’s authority to manage and conserve native wildlife, including on federal lands.”

The lawsuit claims the regulations “infringe on Alaska’s constitutional obligation to its citizens to provide a sustainable yield of State wildlife resources.”

The State of Alaska also claims “the federal agencies did not adopt these regulations for conservation purposes. Instead, the agencies sought to override statutory restrictions on federal authority to manage wildlife…