ANCHORAGE, ALASKA (AP) — Two federal agencies took steps to increase hunting and trapping on several national preserves in Alaska and in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in separate statements this week that the actions are designed to align federal and state law, The Anchorage Daily News reported Thursday.

Conservation groups said the new rules will support extreme measures to kill predators and their young in national preserves in Alaska, while a proposed rule change would allow brown bear baiting in the Kenai National Wildlife…