challenging its legality<\/a> plays out. But Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman said the groups had failed to show that the state acted without a reasonable basis for approving the plan.<\/p>\nThe timing of the ruling is important: The Mulchatna caribou herd in southwest Alaska is expected to begin calving soon. The babies are particularly susceptible to being eaten by bears or wolves.<\/p>\n
State officials see the bear-killing program as important to helping the caribou herd recover. The herd, which once provided up to about 4,770 caribou a year for subsistence hunters from dozens of communities, peaked at around 190,000 animals. <\/p>\n
But the caribou population began declining in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and by 2019 numbered around 13,000 animals. Last year, the population was estimated around 16,280, according to the state Department of Fish and Game. Hunting has not been allowed since 2021.<\/p>\n
The state killed 180 bears from 2023 to 2024, most of them brown bears, plus 11 more last year, according to the conservation groups’ lawsuit. The groups argue that the Alaska Board of Game last year authorized reinstating the program without key data on the bears\u2019 population numbers and sustainability. <\/p>\n
Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement the groups want to see the caribou herd thrive, \u201cbut the state simply hasn\u2019t shown that the unrestrained killing of bears is going to help us get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to stop this disgraceful waste of the state\u2019s limited resources and work based on science to protect all our wildlife,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n
State attorneys have said that officials took a \u201chard look\u201d at factors related to bear numbers in adopting the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe herd has persisted at low numbers but started showing a positive response since 2023, when bear removal during calving seasons began,\u201d they wrote in a court filing.<\/p>\n
The Alaska Department of Law welcomed Zeman’s decision \u201cto allow this management program to continue during the upcoming caribou calving season, a crucial time for herd recovery,\u201d spokesperson Sam Curtis said by email. The department represents the board and Department of Fish and Game. <\/p>\n
\u201cContinuing this program makes sense in light of the scientific record,\u201d Curtis said.<\/p>\n
Attorneys with Trustees for Alaska, representing the conservation groups, are reviewing the ruling and \u201cwill consider all available options,\u201d spokesperson Madison Grosvenor said by email.<\/p>\n
The program has been the subject of ongoing litigation. A judge last year, in a case previously brought by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, found fault with the process in which it was adopted and concluded the state lacked data on bear sustainability.<\/p>\n
Emergency regulations implemented by the state were later struck down. A subsequent public process was announced surrounding plans to reauthorize the program, which the board did last July.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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