A legal quirk that had criminalized hunting waterfowl at the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge on private parcels was removed Monday by the Juneau Assembly.
Because some land in the refuge is privately owned, different rules for shotgun use technically apply.
Assemblyman Jesse Kiehl argued that the ordinance clarifies that hunting with a shotgun would be allowed unless the landowner objects.
“It doesn’t change anybody’s private property rights,” Kiehl said, “and it doesn’t do away with any responsibility of an individual who wants to hunt.”
The ordinance passed overwhelmingly. Assemblyman Loren Jones was opposed.
