On February 6, twenty-seven sportsmen’s conservation groups sent a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in support of House Joint Resolution 69, which would nullify the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule, “Non-Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska.”
This final FWS rule contradicts the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s constitutional mandate to manage the state’s wildlife resources for sustained yield, which is affirmed in the Alaska Statehood Act, the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act, and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act.
H.J. Resolution 69, introduced by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Member Congressman Don Young (AK), requests that Congress eliminate this rule to allow appropriate state-based management of natural resources in Alaska, as existed prior to finalization of the rule. This Resolution is anticipated to be voted on the House floor on Wednesday, February 15.
