April 5, 2017
The Association is very pleased with President Donald Trump’s signing of HJ Res 69, which nullifies the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) final rule on “Non-Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska” (81 Fed. Reg.52248, April 5, 2016). The USFWS final rule preempted the authority of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to manage wildlife on National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs), whose authority is affirmed in three federal statutes.
The state fish and wildlife agencies and the Association have a long history of cooperation with the USFWS that has resulted in many conservation successes. The states and the Association look forward in this Administration to restoring what we had enjoyed prior to the issue of this USFWS final rule, and that is a good, cooperative working relationship with the USFWS that respects authorities and delivers conservation successes on the ground for our citizens.