Court Ruling Affirms Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s ‘Bad Faith’ Actions Around Mulchatna Bear Control
ANCHORAGE, AK — On October 14th, Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin affirmed her finding that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game acted in bad faith when they shot 11 bears from the air this spring.
The order is part of a two-year legal battle between the Alaska Wildlife Alliance (AWA) and the State Board of Game and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. In 2023, AWA filed a complaint against the State for adopting a bear control program in southwest Alaska without a public comment process and without any data on bear populations or sustainability. In March of 2025, Superior Court Judge Guidi ruled in favor of AWA, finding that the Board of Game violated both the Constitutional provisions of due process and sustained yield. Judge Guide declared the program unlawfully adopted and void.
One week later, ADF&G petitioned the Board of Game to adopt the program as an Emergency Regulation, and, despite broad public resistance, the Board of Game voted to reinstate the program under emergency regulations. AWA requested an injunction against the new regulations, arguing that the State losing a court case did not constitute an ‘emergency’, and that the State again failed to satisfy Constitutional Due Process and Sustained Yield requirements. On May 7th, Superior Court Judge Rankin found that the procedure to adopt the Emergency regulation did not address the due process requirements and affirmed that the original order, declaring the bear control program void, still stood.
Minutes after the Court closed for the week, ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang announced that the Department still planned to shoot bears in the control area, despite the Court’s order. Eleven bears, including an unknown number of cubs, were killed by ADF&G staff from aircraft over the weekend. AWA immediately filed for a Temporary Restraining Order against ADF&G. Almost immediately, Judge Rankin granted the order and found that the State was acting in bad faith: “the State disregarded the Directives of [Court] orders, acting in bad faith, which invalidates the emergency regulation.”
Through the testimony of Director Ryan Scott, the Court found that ADF&G, confirmed that the State was looking for a workaround to continue the program by any means possible. “Again, the State repeatedly argued that the intent of passing the Emergency Resolution was to comply with the deficiencies found in the Order. That the State intended to move forward with predator control after the Court found that it failed in that regard demonstrated that compliance was not the goal of the Emergency Regulation - continuing predator control by any means was the goal.”
On October 14th, Judge Rankin affirmed that the bad faith finding still stood: “[...]the Court declines to withdraw its finding that the State acted in bad faith.” The Court ordered that any proposed Final Judgement and Decree be filed within 15 days.
Quotes from Nicole Schmitt, Director of Alaska Wildlife Alliance:
“After the Court found that the Mulchatna bear control program was illegally adopted, both the Board of Game and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game had the opportunity to fix their mistakes -they could have simply admitted their errors and invited a process to remedy the problems. Instead, they chose to move forward in bad faith, taking every opportunity to circumvent public involvement and legal oversight. The ‘Emergency Regulation’ was a crude attempt to sidestep a Court order, and when the Judge agreed, Department leadership claimed confusion so they could continue shooting bears for as long as possible.”
“Alaskans deserve a Department of Fish and Game and Board of Game who approach these issues with good faith, or at least the minimal legal standards set forth by the Constitution. This Administration’s leadership has made it clear that their priority is not public process or sustainability; they’ll push whatever special programs they want, public sentiment- and the judiciary- be damned.”
The Alaska Wildlife Alliance will continue to ensure that Alaska’s wildlife is managed ethically, lawfully, and in the best interest of all Alaskans.
Read the full ruling here.
Media contacts:
Alaska Wildlife Alliance: Nicole Schmitt, 907-917-9453, nicole@akwildlife.org
