Four brown bears line up at the top of the falls on the Brooks River on Sept. 6, 2021, to fish for salmon. Brooks Falls draws bears from around the region, as well as Katmai National Park and Preserve tourists who travel there to view the bear crowds. (Photo by L. Law/National Park Service)
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s decision to kill almost 200 brown bears in order to boost a struggling caribou herd violated due process and was unconstitutional, an Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
Judge Andrew Guidi’s 10-page decision means at least a temporary end to the state’s controversial bear-killing program, which was intended to aid the struggling Mulchatna caribou herd…