Two conservation groups are suing the Alaska Game Commission over a plan to authorize the use of helicopters to shoot brown and black bears across a vast 40,000-square-mile area in the state’s southwest.
What happened?
As the Center for Biological Diversity details, it joined the Alaska Wildlife Federation in filing a lawsuit in state Superior Court claiming that the Mulchatner Bear Control Plan violates Alaska’s constitutional requirements for sustainable wildlife management.
The state’s highest court previously ruled that the provision applies to all wildlife, including bears.
Under a previous version of the plan, state officials shot 175 brown bears and five additional black bears during the 2023-2024 season.
The reinstated plan allows officials to shoot bears regardless of age until 2028, with no limit on the number shot.
The target area is just a few miles from Clark Lake National Monument and Katmai National Park, putting bears traveling through protected and unprotected areas at risk.
“This is a shameful misuse of public resources and a betrayal of the trust Alaskans have in their wildlife managers,” said Cooper Freeman, director of the Alaska Biological Diversity Center.
“State officials should be protecting all of our wildlife for future generations rather than flexing their power by orchestrating the mass slaughter of iconic bears without scientific basis.”
The plan sparked outrage on social media.
“Stop letting politicians run natural resource programs,” one Instagram commenter wrote. “Give them to biologists.”
Another person pleaded: “This should never happen! Please save the bears and other wildlife!”
Why is this plan worthy of attention?
A state court had invalidated an earlier version of the plan in March 2025, ruling that its passage did not provide reliable scientific information about how many bears actually live in the area.
Months later, state officials reinstated the policy without first collecting the population data required by the ruling.
Bears are irreplaceable in their ecosystems, carrying seeds and spreading nutrients over vast areas. A lack of kill caps and population planning could throw wildlife populations out of balance across the region and impact nearby communities and protected lands.
The Royal Society says, “Biodiversity is vital to the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans.”
Shifts in the natural order could affect everything from water and air quality to human food supplies.
Predators such as bears are crucial in controlling prey populations. In Scotland, for example, experts are considering reintroducing wolves to reduce deer numbers, which are getting out of control and stunting the growth of important shrubs.
One Instagram user commented: “How we treat our animals, our elders, our veterans and our most vulnerable shows us exactly who we are as a country.”
What can I do to help protect bears in Alaska?
If you would like to support bear conservation efforts, donate to or volunteer with the Alaska Wildlife Federation or the Center for Biological Diversity.
In the meantime, contacting Alaska legislators to oppose predator control programs that lack scientific support can help legislators understand public perceptions.
Sharing information about the lawsuit with friends and family can also encourage public pressure to protect wildlife based on science, not politics.
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