I get a real sense of accomplishment when the Park Service takes action on an issue we’ve been pushing for years. In early April, the agency renewed temporary regulations to keep hunters from killing black bear cubs and sows with cubs with spotlights at their den sites in Gates of the Arctic and Denali National Preserves.  And new temporary regulations were adopted to disallow using bait to hunt brown bears at Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias, and Yukon-Charley National Preserves in Alaska. This is great news for bears in our northernmost national preserves.

For those less familiar with bear hunting, “spotlighting” is a controversial practice that involves crawling into a bear’s den while it is hibernating, waking it by shining a light in its eyes, and shooting it. That is hardly sportsmanlike, and it’s not “hunting.” That’s killing.

Why, do you ask, does the Park Service have to take this action to renew its bans on these practices each year? Because Alaska allows spotlighting, baiting, and other objectionable hunting methods throughout the state. The Alaska Board of Game makes the rules for managing wildlife, and its main goal is to ensure that there are more than enough animals for human consumption—quite a different approach to managing wildlife populations than the Park Service takes. In order to ensure there is plenty of moose and caribou for hunters to kill, the state has a very active Intensive Management program aimed at reducing populations of wolves and bears. To increase the number of wolves and bears hunters are permitted to kill, the Alaska Board of Game has increasingly liberalized hunting methods to include baiting and spotlighting.

This treatment of bears—which serve an important ecological role at the top of the food chain—is in stark contrast to how Congress directs the Park Service to manage wildlife. The Park Service must specifically maintain natural and healthy populations, in Alaska and throughout the nation, and Park Service management policies make it explicitly clear that manipulating any wildlife population (like wolves and bears) to benefit a hunted species (like moose or caribou) is not allowed. Period. No exceptions.

From the perspective of the state of Alaska, this is simply a state’s rights issue. Officials here have argued long and hard that the Park Service has no authority to reject these hunting rules adopted by the Board of Game. NPCA and the Park Service have a very different opinion. The Park Service has all the authority in the world to reject state hunting rules that conflict with Park Service regulations and management objectives. It has been successfully tested in states all across the country.

As I’ve said before, the issue is not if sport hunting is allowed on national preserve lands—it is. The issue is how you hunt.

Now that the Park Service has again exercised its right to push back on the Board of Game’s hunting regulations, we are highly supportive of taking the all-important next step of making the Park Service position a permanent regulation so the agency doesn’t have to renew these rules every year. We’re hoping that’ll happen this spring—and based on our past advocacy on this issue, we know we have thousands of NPCA supporters around the country behind us as we urge the Park Service to do the right thing to protect these important and iconic animals.

If you liked this story, you might also like

• NPS Should Not Be Forced to Support Alaska’s War on Bears (February 1, 2012)
• Getting Close to Katmai’s Bears in the Hopes of Protecting Them (July 31, 2012)
• Death of Alpha Wolf Sparks Renewed Concern over Hunting near Yellowstone (December 27, 2012)

Earlier this month, more than 100 million acres of public land in Alaska shared one common anniversary: On December 2, Lake Clark, Kenai Fjords, and other parks and preserves established through the Alaskan National Interest Land Conservation Act, or ANILCA, turned 32 years old. This federal legislation created ten different national parks and expanded three others in America’s largest, wildest state, including:

• Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
• Cape Krusenstern National Monument
• Denali National Park
• Gates Of The Arctic National Park and Preserve
• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
• Katmai National Park and Preserve
• Kenai Fjords National Park
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
• Noatak National Preserve
• Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve
• Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

Although ANILCA was controversial when it passed–protesters burned President Carter in effigy and some residents engaged in acts of civil disobedience–this law is now recognized as one of the most significant land conservation measures in America’s history and an enormous contributor to Alaska’s tourist economy.

Here are just a few images of the vast natural wonders protected by ANILCA. Put on an extra sweater and enjoy!

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

I recently captured the true essence of seeing brown bears up very close and personal in the wild with my camera at Katmai National Park and Preserve. Joined by three colleagues and our passionate guide and partner in bear conservation, Dave Bachrach from AK Adventures, we departed from the coastal town of Homer via float plane, soaring over volcanoes, massive glaciers, and lush green mountains erupting from the water, before landing in Katmai National Park’s Hallo Bay.

Protected by thigh-high waders, our group stepped into the bay’s shallow waters and sloshed to shore, to be greeted by our first incredible treat of the day: a brown bear sow and her “teenager” cub, digging into sand left soft and pliable by the departing tide. The bears have developed a unique capability to supplement their early summer, pre-salmon-season diet of grasses and leftover berries by hunting for razor clams. We huddled together with two other small groups at the shoreline to watch and photograph this unforgettable moment: the bears digging into the sand, pulling out clams, slapping the shells open on their forearms (forepaws?), slurping out the briny meat, and discarding the shells. Wandering within ten feet of us at times, we might have felt fearful of these massive animals–and their equally impressive large claws and powerful jaws. Any sense of fear, however, was completely overshadowed by the joy of having such a pure and uncaged experience with these charismatic creatures.

Later in the day, we ate lunch in the grass while watching what can only be described as the bear version of playing hard-to-get. Again, the massive animals walked right by our group, completely uninterested in what we were doing or eating. Our guide explained that while the bears’ keen sense of smell allowed them to detect everything in our picnic, their appetites have not been spoiled by human food, making them unaware that our turkey sandwiches could be something that they would want to eat as well. The optimistic pessimist in me rejoiced that there are still some things we haven’t managed to screw up…yet.

As is the case with many species of “charismatic megafauna,” the brown bears have valid reasons to want to head for the hills. While I was able to enjoy an afternoon of up-close delight with nearly 20 brown bears in the national park portion of Katmai, in the park’s connected preserve, an escalating war continues to wage. At the battlefield are brown bears, hunters, and those like me, who will treasure bear-watching memories for a lifetime.

Like much of Alaska’s land managed by the National Park Service, Katmai National Park and Preserve’s 3.6 million acres gained protection though the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980. While hunting is prohibited in the national park portion of the land, the preserve provides subsistence hunters freedom to hunt bears. Sport hunters are also permitted, and some will hire hunting guides who have contracts to operate in the preserve. Some of these sport hunters will comfortably stand and shoot bullets within dozens of yards of these animals. This 2007 video shows just how close hunters come to the animals (warning: video content is not graphic but includes footage of hunters killing a brown bear).

NPCA continues to follow the ways in which Alaska manages its wildlife population, through an ongoing saga between National Park Service regulations and those of the Alaska Board of Game, which is in charge of setting bag limits and season lengths for the state. The National Park Service is currently reviewing two proposed contracts for guided hunting in Katmai National Preserve. These contracts are a long-time source of concern for NPCA, and for visitors who wish to see these bears alive and thriving. Learn more about our most recent efforts to protect Katmai’s bears and sign up to stay informed on this ever-evolving issue and how you can help.

-Kati Schmidt, NPCA’s Senior Media Relations Manager

Love watching these bears? So does Kati. Check out a short video clip below that she captured on her recent trip to Katmai. You can also check out the park’s new webcam, set up where bears like to look for fish at Brooks Falls.

If you liked this story, you might also like:

• NPS Should Not Be Forced to Support Alaska’s War on Bears (February 1, 2012)
• Friday Photo: A Cool Swim at Katmai (June 1, 2012)
• New Beginnings for Yellowstone’s Pronghorn (July 25, 2012)

But for freelance Alaskan photographer Patrick Endres, days of preparation may go into a single click of the shutter like this one—including hours and hours of trekking through wilderness with a heavy pack of gear, analyzing the light patterns, studying local wildlife, perching high and low for the best angles, and experimenting with different lenses, speeds, and focal points. Fortunately, when you pair Alaska’s vast landscapes and abundant wildlife with patience and skill, the result is a steady stream of spectacular shots like this one, which Endres documents at http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com.

Alaska is home to 54 million acres of national park land—two thirds of the acreage of the entire national park system, with more bears and moose and staggering mountain ranges and northern lights than you’ll find anywhere else in the States. If you want to head north with your camera, check out Endres’s excellent tips on capturing wildlife photos—complete with a peek into his gear bag. They’re a great complement to our own Scott Kirkwood’s photo tips, but specialized for the Land of the Midnight Sun. (And if you’re never gonna take photos in Alaska, click anyway to see the unbelievably cute short-eared owl about a third of the way down the page. No, really. Just go take a look.)

Of course, there’s always a wrong way to do it, too. For an alternate approach, check out this photographer who captured images of a bear wrecking his rented photography gear in Yellowstone!

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Glacier National Park is sometimes called “America’s Switzerland,” and it’s easy to see why. I’ve been lucky enough to make five visits to the park over the years, and with over one million acres of breathtaking mountain peaks, gorgeous lakes, endless views, and access to wildlife and historic lodges, I don’t think I’ll ever run out of reasons to keep going back.

Taking the drive over Glacier’s famed Going-To-The-Sun Road is the best introduction one could ask for to experience an overview of the park. My favorite memories of Glacier National Park and the broader Crown of the Continent region involve seeing the wildlife close-up (but from a safe distance). During a boat tour across Two Medicine Lake, we saw two grizzly bears walking along the far side of the lake. Another year, during a drive back from Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park to Glacier, we spotted a bear completely consumed with feeding on blueberries just across the road from where we parked. We were fascinated for over a half hour as he focused on fueling for his winter hibernation. Last year, while accompanying an NPCA ParkScapes tour, our group spotted a bear across a small lake just as we arrived at Waterton Lakes. It’s also fun to spot mountain goats and bighorn sheep while driving through the park. You never quite know where you are going to spot these beautiful animals. At Logan Pass, we took a short hike on a boardwalk over a field of gorgeous alpine wildflowers to have a picnic lunch overlooking Hidden Lake, but the bighorn sheep were hanging out back near the parking lot, letting the summer tourists take close-up photos.

Adding to the charm of visiting these parks are the vintage park lodges. Some of the old lodges were built by the railroads to lure vacationers out to the park, and were opened as far back as 1910. This year’s NPCA trip will stay at Many Glacier Hotel, which features Swiss chalet architecture and a great hall boasting timber logs stretching three stories high. I remember one year the night we arrived at Many Glacier Hotel, there was a free concert by the von Trapp Family singers (grandchildren of the original Sound of Music story). The balconies around the great hall filled with guests as the melodies rose to the rafters. 

The Crown of the Continent offers a diversity of landscapes, wildlife, and experiences, and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to visit this unique area to take it! I invite you to join me for a free webinar next Tuesday, March 6, to hear more details about the Crown of the Continent. In addition, the webinar will feature photos from around the region and information on NPCA’s next Crown of the Continent departure this July. Register for the webinar today!

I like bears. It’s one of the reasons I moved to Alaska over 30 years ago. There is something about traveling in the wilderness with wild animals that are bigger than you that provides an edge to your outdoor experience. And I’ve seen my fair share of bears over the years… hundreds and hundreds of them fishing for salmon in Katmai, digging for ground squirrels in Gates of the Arctic or for razor clams in Lake Clark, climbing on a dead humpback whale that washed ashore in Glacier Bay, and eating berries in Wrangell-St. Elias.

So I was particularly irked when the Alaska Board of Game recently added shooting bears from airplanes to the state’s arsenal in its much larger war on both bears and wolves.

Unfortunately, that war has spilled over onto the 19 million acres managed by the National Park Service in Alaska. Wildlife agencies in all 50 states write the hunting regulations for all lands in their state, including those managed by the federal government. But when hunting regulations have a negative impact on national preserves, the Park Service can and should create its own rules to override the state. That’s the scenario we have here in Alaska.

The State of Alaska and the National Park Service have conflicting approaches to managing wildlife. The state’s Intensive Management strategy involves killing bears and wolves with the assumption that fewer predators mean more moose and caribou for human consumption. The National Park Service, on the other hand, is charged by Congress to maintain natural and healthy wildlife populations and NPS rules prohibit the manipulation of any wildlife population to benefit another harvested species. So the issue is not IF sport hunting is allowed on national preserve lands—it is. The issue is HOW you hunt.

In its desire to increase the numbers of moose and caribou, for example, the state has declared a quiet war on bears by authorizing, among other means, a hunting method called “spotlighting.” Imagine crawling into a bear den to shoot a hibernating Yogi or Smokey taking a winter’s nap. It’s legal in Alaska. The Game Board also authorizes killing cubs and mothers with cubs. There is nothing sportsmanlike in shooting bear cubs. Other objectionable hunting methods currently authorized include bear baiting and snaring, which is particularly egregious because it is non-selective. Any bear—young, old, male, female, grizzly, or black—can get caught in a snare. It is not a hunting method—it’s a killing method used solely for reducing bear populations.

While the National Park Service already chose to prohibit shooting bears from airplanes, our concern is with these other objectionable hunting methods that are still permissible.  For years, the National Park Service has been trying to cooperate with the state to exempt Park Service lands from these hunting methods, but to no avail. In fact, I have a list of 52 times in the past 10 years that the state has rejected Park Service requests to either change a regulation or exempt NPS from a regulation that was ultimately adopted. And I tried again at the January 2012 Board of Game meeting, but our proposals to exempt NPS lands from baiting, snaring, spotlighting, shooting cubs and sows with cubs, and even taking wolves when they are raising pups were all voted down. So much for state/federal cooperation.

Now it’s up to the Park Service to step up and write additional rules to prohibit these other objectionable hunting methods. And when they do, NPCA will be there to support them.