President Donald Trump on April 3 signed H.J. Res. 69, introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), returning wildlife management rights to Alaska after the state’s authority was stripped by the federal government.
The “Alaska Final Rule,” implemented last September, switched authority to manage wildlife within Alaska’s federal wildlife refuges from the state to the federal government. The 16 wildlife refuges affected total 77 million acres, about 20 percent of the state’s land. Had Trump not signed the law, a precedent would have been set allowing the federal government to overrule any state wildlife agency and its management processes and protocols.
