Congress Votes To Kill Protections For Wolves, Bears On Alaska Refuges

WASHINGTON — With the stroke of his pen, President Donald Trump could allow for bears, wolves and other predators to once again be hunted in Alaska’s national wildlife refuges. Following in the footsteps of their House colleagues, Senate lawmakers on Tuesday approved a measure to repeal an Obama-era rule that largely banned hunting of Alaska’s most iconic predators on more than 76 million federal acres. The Republican-sponsored legislation would undo the Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Rule, ultimately opening the door for the state to resume aggressive predator control tactics, including shooting bears and wolves from airplanes and killing cubs and pups in their dens. The Senate passed the resolution by a 52-47 party-line vote. It was adopted last month by the House, so the measure now heads to Trump’s desk for final approval. During their testimony on the Senate floor, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) described the rule, issued in August by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as an example of federal overreach that restricts Alaska’s ability to manage its own fish and game.  Murkowski called it “bad for Alaska, bad for hunters, bad for our native peoples, bad for America,” as well as a “direct attack on states’ rights.” Although the rule deals specifically with non-subsistence predator control, Sullivan spoke extensively about Alaska’s criti...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news