[1] These agencies are typically within each state's Executive Branch, and have the purpose of protecting a state's fish and wildlife resources.
The exact duties of each agency vary by state, [2] but often include resource management and research, regulation setting, and enforcement of law related to fisheries and wildlife.
It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS).
The AST is also involved in apprehending fugitives as part of the Alaska Fugitive Task Force, an inter-agency collaborative of Alaska police departments that cooperates with police agencies throughout the United States and less commonly with Interpol in apprehending wanted men and women.
Unlike many lower 48 states, the AST also serves as Alaska’s primary environmental law enforcement agency; troopers assigned to the AST’s Division of Alaska Wildlife Troopers are known as "Alaska Wildlife Troopers" and primarily serve as game wardens, although they retain the same powers as other Alaskan state troopers.