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Author Archives: Exposing the Big Game
Parks Service Rescinds Discretionary Hunting Access Closures in Alaska
October 20, 2026
NPS Lifts Alaska Hunting Ban | Sportsmen’s Alliance
Summary: The National Park Service has officially rescinded restrictive federal rules, restoring longstanding state-authorized hunting and trapping on Alaska’s national preserves. This decision marks a major regulatory and legal victory for the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation following a decade-long effort to protect hunters’ and trappers’ rights.
On October 19, the National Park Service (NPS) (1) rescinded prior rules that preempted methods of state-authorized fish and wildlife harvests and (2) revised, codified, and established procedures for restricting public access and activities on Alaska park lands. Specifically, the rule restores longstanding state-authorized hunting and trapping regulations on Alaska’s national preserves, including the use of bait to attract and take bears and the expanded use of firearms to take furbearers.
A Victory for Sportsmen
“This final rule restores longstanding National Park Service interpretations of law, policies, and regulations adopted to implement the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act,” said Torin Miller, Associate Litigation Counsel at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “For over three decades, this regulatory framework has proven effective. The final rule removes unnecessary restrictions on bear hunting and trapping, and it ensures any hunting closures are properly noticed and that local input is considered. We welcome these changes.”
Alignment With State Regulations and Public Input
The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (SAF) commented on the proposed rule. SAF pushed to remove changes made through 2015, 2017, and 2024 rules. Those rules insulated federal land managers from public involvement. They also removed required state consultation and enabled discretionary closures.
Importantly, the final rule aligns state and federal regulations. It answers public requests for action and advances multiple Executive Orders and Secretarial Orders. Furthermore, the NPS restores and maintains authority to restrict public access, entry, and uses only for lawful purposes.
Specifically, SAF supports removing the 2015 Rule on using bait to attract or take bears on national preserves in Alaska. The agency also streamlined the definitions in 36 C.F.R. 13.1 by removing unnecessary wording.
A Decade-Long Legal Battle by the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation
SAF has fought NPS preemption rules in Alaska for over a decade. We opposed the 2015 Rule directly. In 2017, SAF petitioned the NPS to repeal it and restore the pre-2015 regulations. That petition highlighted the success of decades-old wildlife management procedures across the state and federal lands, including NPS lands.
SAF also opposed the 2017 Rule. We again expressed concerns about State preemption and take prohibitions based on ideology rather than science. A 2020 Rule answered our calls for rescission of the 2015 and 2017 Rules. However, animal-rights extremists quickly challenged the 2020 Rule.
SAF secured intervenor status to defend hunters, trappers, and conservationists. The courts eventually vacated that rule and dismissed the case as moot after NPS launched its new rulemaking process. This let to today’s rule.
The legacy of hunting, fishing, and trapping depends on our actions today. Please stand with us or donate to the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund in the fight against those who are working to bully and erode our heritage and traditions.
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Family dog’s death in baited snare prompts call for new trapping safeguards
Family dog killed in snare
Family dog’s death in baited snare prompts call for new trapping safeguards – Castanet.net
Tim Petruk – Oct 21, 2026 / 11:11 am | Story: 635160
Photo: Contributed
Berta, a five-year-old Maremma livestock guardian dog, is shown with chickens near her Williams Lake-area home. According to The Fur-Bearers, Berta was later found dead in a baited snare near the property.
A Williams Lake family is grieving after their dog was killed in a baited snare near their home, according to a B.C. wildlife protection charity.
The Fur-Bearers said Berta, a five-year-old Maremma livestock guardian dog, failed to return home earlier this month. Her family later found her dead in a snare surrounded by other baited snares.
The incident has been reported to the BC Conservation Officer Service and is under investigation, the organization said.
Berta’s owner, Victoria Savile, said the traps were set in an area she and other residents regularly use for hiking, horseback riding and hunting.
“Families should not have to discover deadly traps through tragedy,” Fur-Bearers executive director Lesley Fox said in a news release.
The group is calling for mandatory warning signs, minimum setbacks from roads and recreation areas, identification tags on traps and mandatory reporting when pets or other non-target animals are caught.
According to The Fur-Bearers, provincial proposals shared with the BC Trappers Association in September included restrictions on certain traps in parks and recreation areas, setbacks from designated roads and recreation sites and mandatory reporting of incidents involving pets. The trappers association has opposed the proposed changes.
In January, a two-year-old husky named Moon was killed in a baited trap near a public road near Radium Hot Springs in the East Kootenay.
We Saved Yellowstone’s Wolves. Why Are We Still Killing Them?
We Saved Yellowstone’s Wolves. Why Are We Still Killing Them?
We Saved Yellowstone’s Wolves. Why Are We Still Killing Them? – CounterPunch.org
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Image by Getty and Unsplash+.
A wolf leaves Yellowstone National Park. It follows the scent of elk, crosses an invisible boundary and enters Montana. Nothing in the landscape tells it that the rules have changed. Yet an animal protected and studied inside the park can now legally be shot or trapped. We call Yellowstone’s wolf restoration a conservation triumph. Why, then, do we permit the killing of the very animals we worked so hard to bring back?
Murdering wolves is the antithesis to conservation.
In 1995, gray wolves returned to Yellowstone after decades of absence following their extermination from the region. Their restoration became one of America’s most celebrated conservation achievements. But the protections surrounding these animals remain fragmented. Yellowstone’s wolves regularly move beyond park boundaries, particularly when following migrating elk. They cannot distinguish a protected landscape from a hunting district. We have created an unfair playing field, and then we congratulate ourselves when the wolf loses.
In February 2021, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte trapped and shot a radio-collared wolf known as 1155M, approximately 10 miles north of Yellowstone. The wolf had been born inside the park and collared by wildlife biologists. Gianforte had a valid wolf license but had not completed the required wolf-trapping certification course. State wildlife officials issued him a written warning. The governor subsequently completed the course. His actions were widely reported, but the larger question extends beyond one public official: What does it say about our conservation priorities when animals tracked for scientific research can be legally killed just outside the landscapes established to protect them?
The consequences are measurable. According to Yellowstone’s 2022 Wolf Project report, approximately 19 percent of wolves primarily using the park were killed during the 2021–22 hunting season. Researchers also documented changes in pack structure, including the dissolution of two packs. Although Yellowstone’s year-end wolf population increased, a population count alone cannot capture the disruption of family groups, the loss of breeding animals or the consequences for long-term research.
Why are we still trapping and killing wolves and coyotes during the sixth mass extinction crisis? At a time when humanity should be repairing the ecosystems it has fragmented, we continue to target native predators for fulfilling their ecological roles. An international scientific assessment estimates that approximately one million animal and plant species face extinction threats. Habitat destruction, exploitation, climate change and pollution are unraveling ecological relationships around the world. Yet our approach to predators too often reflects an older belief that nature must be controlled rather than understood.
Wolves are keystone predators. They are the gatekeepers of biodiversity, helping maintain the intricate relationships among wildlife species, ecosystems and habitats. Their presence influences prey populations, supports scavengers and can contribute to vegetation recovery and the restoration of wildlife habitats. Coyotes also perform important ecological functions, including regulating smaller mammals and sustaining food webs. These native predators are not obstacles to conservation. They are integral to the ecological systems we claim to protect.
The documentary How Wolves Change Rivers brought the concept of trophic cascades to a broad audience, showing how predators can influence entire ecological communities. Some of its claims, particularly those involving river channels, remain scientifically debated. Yellowstone’s recovery is shaped by many factors, including climate, vegetation, water and other wildlife. But that complexity strengthens the case for humility. We still have much to learn about the consequences of removing predators from functioning ecosystems.
Ranchers can suffer real financial losses when wolves or coyotes kill livestock. Wildlife managers must also consider public safety and local ecological conditions. But acknowledging these concerns does not require accepting recreational predator killing as a conservation necessity. Nonlethal approaches, including range riders, livestock guardian animals and improved fencing, can reduce some conflicts. Their effectiveness varies, and they require sustained investment. That is a challenge worth meeting.
We should also distinguish the temporary capture of wildlife for scientific monitoring from lethal trapping. Research collars help scientists understand migration, survival and family structure. Killing an animal for recreation serves a fundamentally different purpose.
We have converted vast landscapes into agricultural operations, highways and housing developments, then blamed wildlife for attempting to survive in the remaining fragments of its ancestral habitat. Rather than continually demanding that predators surrender their lives to accommodate human expansion, shouldn’t we be asking how human activities can change to accommodate the natural world?
The issue is not whether every wolf or coyote population is endangered. Coyotes remain widespread, and wolf populations differ substantially across regions. The question is whether wildlife policy adequately values predators’ ecological functions, social relationships and contributions to healthy habitats. Abundance alone does not make an animal disposable.
State wildlife agencies should strengthen protections for wolves that routinely cross Yellowstone’s boundaries, evaluate the ecological effects of lethal trapping and expand funding for coexistence programs. They should also make the scientific basis for predator-killing policies transparent to the public. Conservation should be judged not merely by how many animals remain alive, but by whether their populations can fulfill their ecological roles.
What are we teaching younger generations when killing a wolf becomes an occasion for applause? A rifle does not make a human ecologically superior to a predator. Neither does a photograph of its lifeless body. Wolves hunt to survive and feed their young. They communicate, cooperate and maintain intricate family relationships. Their value exists independently of our approval.
We cannot proclaim our love for wilderness while treating its inhabitants as disposable trophies. We cannot claim to be guardians of biodiversity while dismantling the relationships that sustain it. We have made the rules, drawn the boundaries and equipped ourselves with the weapons. The wolf has only its instincts, its family and its will to live.
If we are responsible for creating the conditions that endanger wolves, shouldn’t we also be responsible for protecting their right to exist?
Sources and References
1. National Park Service: Yellowstone Wolf Management
2. National Park Service: 2022 Yellowstone Wolf Project Annual Report
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/upload/2022-Web-Wolf-Report.pdf
3. Mountain West News Bureau, March 23, 2021: Montana Governor Given Written Warning After Trapping, Killing of Yellowstone Wolf
4. Montana Public Radio, March 24, 2021: Gianforte Takes Wolf Trapping Course Following Warning
5. IPBES: 2019 Global Biodiversity Assessment
6. National Park Service: Yellowstone Wolf Ecology
7. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: Wildlife Services
Christine Villabona-Kuntz is the founder of Pure Trixie Productions, an independent conservation media initiative focused on biodiversity, wildlife protection and ecological restoration.
Alaska Seniors 60+ Can Get Free Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Licenses
By Low Income Relief Team • October 20, 2026 • Resources & Programs • 4 minutes of reading
If you live in Alaska and you’re 60 or older, you may never have to buy another state hunting or fishing license.
Alaska offers qualifying seniors a free permanent identification card that replaces their state hunting, sport fishing and trapping licenses. You only need to apply once, and the card stays valid as long as you remain an eligible Alaska resident.
Here’s what the card covers, who qualifies and how to get yours.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) offers a free Senior Permanent Identification Card (PID) to eligible residents age 60 and older.
This card replaces the need to purchase regular state hunting, sport fishing and trapping licenses.
It also provides additional savings:
Alaska Seniors 60+ Can Get Free Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Licenses
Stanton County hunting accident
Bird flu detected in multiple Indiana counties, state officials warn
Jacqueline White
Updated Tue, October 20, 2026 at 6:24 AM PDT
1 min read
US records first human case of H5N1 this year
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The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) also known as bird flu in multiple Indiana counties.
According to DNR, bird flu was confirmed as the cause of death for multiple geese in Hamilton County. Multiple blue-winged teal in Greene County were also confirmed to have the virus through surveillance by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and the DNR.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the public health risk remains low, but people should avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds. If a carcass must be handled, use gloves and a mask, double-bag it, and wash your hands thoroughly afterward.
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If you spot sick or dead waterfowl or raptors, report it at on.IN.gov/sickwildlife.
Waterfowl hunters should wear protective gear when processing birds and cook all harvested meat to 165°F.
Contact the Indiana Department of Health if you develop symptoms after handling sick or dead wildlife – 317-233-7125 during business hours or 317-233-1325 after hours.
For more information, visit on.IN.gov/avian-flu.View comments
Up next
US records first human case of H5N1 this year
Maeve Cullinan
Tue, October 20, 2026 at 7:27 AM PDT
3 min read
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A man in Washington has tested positive for H5N1, marking the first human case of bird flu in the US this year.
The patient, who works on a dairy farm, was reportedly infected after being exposed to two infected cows.
H5N1 has become endemic on US dairy farms after ‘spilling over’ from birds in 2024, and has since infected more than 1,000 herds across dozens of states.
The person is not seriously ill and is isolating at home, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
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Scientists have long warned that if H5N1 mutates and gains the ability to spread person-to-person, it could trigger the next global pandemic – and each new infection gives the virus more opportunities to replicate and change.
Last week, a 50-year-old man in Taiwan was infected with a different strain of bird flu, H7N7, genetic analysis of which showed the virus had undergone adaptations to spread more effectively between mammals.
Of the more than 1,000 people who have contracted H5N1 since it was first detected in the late 1990s, almost half have died.
Its “extraordinarily high” mortality rate means that, were it to gain the ability to spread between people, it would be of “enormous concern”, the World Health Organization (WHO) previously warned.
However, the strain circulating among US dairy cattle, clade 2.3.4.4b, has proven less lethal to humans.
Since the virus first spilled over into American dairy cattle, there have been at least 72 human cases of H5N1 in the US, almost all of whom had close contact with sick animals. Two of those infected died.
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Symptoms typically include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, and, in the case of clade 2.3.4.4b, conjunctivitis.
In milder cases, the virus is often indistinguishable from illnesses like Covid-19 and the common cold, meaning current case numbers are thought to be a significant underestimate.
In the US, just over half of dairy workers are migrants – many undocumented – who avoid voluntary testing programmes over fears of coming into contact with law enforcement.
“If people don’t feel safe coming forward for testing or care, we risk missing early signs of spread, especially in high-risk populations like dairy farm workers,” Dr Krutika Kuppalli, associate professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern, previously told The Telegraph.
Washington health officials said the risk to the public remained “low” and “fits the pattern seen across the US dairy outbreak: infection through direct occupational contact with infected animals.”
The spread of H5N1 bird flu has been felt most on commercial poultry farms.
In recent years, the virus has decimated farmed poultry, with estimates that more than 500 million farmed birds, mostly chickens, have been culled since 2021 alone as a result of the virus.
It has also ‘jumped’ to nearly 100 different animal species – including bears, lions, foxes, mink, dolphins, porpoises, dogs, and cats.
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