Federal Lands Ban Bear Baiting: New Rules End Hunting Practice to Boost Public Safety

The “Don’t Feed the Bears Act of 2025” is straightforward: it bans the intentional feeding of bears on all federal public lands, specifically targeting the practice of bear baiting for hunting. Essentially, Congress is trying to fix a major inconsistency where federal land managers tell campers, “Don’t feed the wildlife,” but then allow licensed hunters to set out massive piles of human-scented food—like pastries and grease—to lure bears in for a shot.

This bill mandates that the ban is enforced across the board. For National Parks and Wildlife Refuges, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture must actively enforce existing anti-feeding rules (like those found in 36 CFR § 2.2(a)(2) and 50 CFR § 32.2(h)). But here’s the biggest change: for lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Forest System—which is a huge amount of public space—the Secretaries must create brand-new regulations banning bear baiting within one year of the Act passing. This means a standardized, no-feeding policy for bears across virtually all federal land.

Why the Change Matters for Your Weekend Trip

Congress’s reasoning is simple: when bears get used to eating human food, whether it’s garbage from a campsite or bait left by a hunter, they lose their natural fear of people. This habituation is what leads to those expensive property damage incidents and, more dangerously, human-bear encounters where the bear often has to be killed. This bill aims to reduce those conflicts. If you hike, camp, or live near federal land, this means a safer environment. The risk of running into a bear that actively associates humans with an easy meal should drop significantly.

The Impact on Hunting Practices

The group most directly affected by this legislation is the community of licensed hunters who use baiting where state laws currently permit it on federal land. This bill will effectively end that practice on BLM and National Forest lands nationwide. For a hunter who relies on baiting to secure a bear tag, this represents a significant shift in how they must approach bear season, requiring a move to alternative, less controversial hunting methods.

The Fine Print: Exceptions and Potential Loopholes

While the ban is broad, the bill includes exceptions, allowing intentional feeding only when the relevant Secretary deems it “absolutely necessary” for the bear’s welfare, to protect public safety, or as part of authorized wildlife research. This is where the bill gets a little squishy (Vague_Authority). The final impact of this law will depend heavily on how the agencies define these exceptions when they write the new rules over the next year. If the definitions of “public safety” or “welfare” are too broad, they could create loopholes that undermine the overall intent of the ban. However, the core takeaway remains: for the average person visiting federal lands, this bill is designed to make the wilderness safer by keeping bears wild.