Alaska wildlife officials have received approval to resume the shooting of black and brown bears, including operations conducted from helicopters, as part of a strategy aimed at revitalizing a caribou population that has historically been vital for Alaska Native hunters. This decision was confirmed by a ruling from Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman on Wednesday.
The Alaska Wildlife Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity, two conservation organizations, had sought to block this initiative while their legal challenge regarding its validity was pending. However, Judge Zeman determined that the plaintiffs did not sufficiently demonstrate that the state acted unreasonably in sanctioning the plan.
This ruling comes at a critical juncture, as the Mulchatna caribou herd in southwestern Alaska is nearing its calving period. The newborn calves are particularly vulnerable to predation by bears and wolves during this time.
State authorities regard the bear management program as essential for the recovery of the caribou herd, which historically supplied approximately 4,770 caribou annually to subsistence hunters across numerous communities. At its peak, the herd’s population reached around 190,000 individuals.
However, the caribou numbers began to decline in the late 1990s and early 2000s, plummeting to approximately 13,000 by 2019. Recent estimates from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicate a slight increase to about 16,280 last year. Hunting of these caribou has been prohibited since 2021.
From 2023 to 2024, state officials reported the culling of 180 bears, predominantly brown bears, along with an additional 11 bears the previous year. According to the lawsuit filed by the conservation groups, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance noted that 99 bears, including 20 cubs, were eliminated from the air within a month in 2023.
The conservation organizations contend that the Alaska Board of Game approved the continuation of the program without crucial data on bear population metrics and sustainability. Cooper Freeman, the Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity, expressed concerns in a statement, asserting that while the groups share a desire for the caribou herd’s recovery, the state has not substantiated its claim that unrestricted bear killings will facilitate this goal.
Freeman emphasized the need to halt what he described as a “disgraceful waste” of the state’s limited resources, advocating for a science-based approach to wildlife protection.
State attorneys maintain that a thorough assessment of bear population dynamics was conducted prior to the plan’s approval. Alaska is estimated to host around 100,000 black bears and 30,000 brown bears. They noted that the caribou herd, although previously low in numbers, has shown signs of recovery since 2023, coinciding with the initiation of bear removal during calving seasons.
Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Law, expressed satisfaction with Judge Zeman’s ruling, emphasizing the importance of continuing the management program during the crucial caribou calving season. The Department of Law represents both the board and the Department of Fish and Game.
“Continuing this program is in line with the scientific evidence,” Curtis stated.
The conservation groups’ legal representatives, Trustees for Alaska, are currently evaluating the ruling and will explore all available legal options, according to spokesperson Madison Grosvenor.
This bear management program has been embroiled in ongoing litigation. A prior ruling last year, stemming from a case initiated by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, criticized the procedural aspects of the program’s adoption and highlighted a lack of data regarding bear sustainability.
Subsequent emergency regulations introduced by the state were invalidated, prompting a public review process that led to the program’s reauthorization by the board in July.
The Alaska Wildlife Association pointed out that a group of state biologists determined in 2020 that the primary factors contributing to the decline of the caribou herd were disease and food scarcity, with bear predation not ranking among the top three mortality causes for the Mulchatna herd.
The alliance expressed concerns that wildlife management practices in Alaska are increasingly driven by public demand for game populations rather than ecological capacity, which could lead to unsustainable management practices.
