WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed a pair executive orders loosening federal regulations to expand hunting on federal lands and roll back fishing restrictions, while reversing a Biden-era ban on using lead ammunition in wildlife refuges.
Trump's "Reinvigorating America's Hunting Heritage" order, signed Sept. 17, directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and other Cabinet officials to propose changes to federal policies that prevent hunting and wildlife management on certain public lands.
Though broadly excluding national parks and monuments from the directive, the same order lifts hunting prohibitions at two national monuments: Castle Mountains National Monument in California and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho.
Animals on the federally protected list of endangered species are still protected under the order.
"I have determined that appropriately managed hunting would not put the objects of historic and scientific interest that these monuments protect at risk," the order signed by Trump reads.
Trump's second order seeks to expand access to offshore recreational fishing. The actions come after Trump angered wildlife protection groups this week when his administration announced a new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act that would reduce its scope ‒ that only the intentional killing or injuring of animals, not accidental, would be considered illegal.
Trump touted the orders at a Rose Garden dinner on Sept. 17 in front of 100 hunters and representatives of outdoor interest groups that backed his presidency. The president recognized National Rifle Association CEO Doug Hamlin, Bass Pro Shops CEO Johnny Morris and former NASCAR driver Richard Childress, among those in attendance.
"I think I got 99% of your vote. And why the hell wouldn't I? You going to vote for Kamala? I don't think so. I don't think she's into the world of hunting," Trump said.
Trump said the hunting order builds off a new rule the Interior Department finalized in August that has allowed hunting at 95% of National Wildlife Refuge System lands, encompassing 92 million acres. The move, which extended hunting rights to 107 national wildlife refuges and four national fish hatcheries, followed executive action Trump took during his first month back in office.
In an appeal to ranchers, Trump this month directed his administration to begin the process to remove the gray wolf and Mexican gray wolf from the federal list of endangered species list.
"We believe that public lands belong to the American people and to the public, and hunters, fishers and outdoorsmen should be able to access them," Trump said. "And they weren't able to. They'd be arrested if they even walked onto certain property."
The order takes aim at the lottery system that limits who can access high-demand Forest Service-administered river areas, directing Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to overhaul the lottery to prioritize U.S. citizens and applicants who haven’t previously received access.
The order also rolls back a Biden-era policy that prevented hunter from using lead ammunition and tackle.
"Lead ammunition was a problem, huh? Is it better than other ammunition, I assume?" Trump said. "I don't know what the hell that means, but I know one thing: You wanted it and I'm here for you."
The order that addresses fishing, dubbed "Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation," directs Rollins and Burgum to take steps to suspend, revise, or rescind regulations they consider overly burdensome to boaters, anglers and outdoor marine businesses.
The order seeks to modernize the federal government's data collection of fisheries by transitioning from mail-in surveys to report catches to mobile reporting apps and by mandating a five-year plan that factors in economic data when making season quota decisions for fishing.
To address fishing industry concerns about shark depredation, the order broadly directs Cabinet officials to "actively address international and domestic barriers to sustainable shark fisheries to the extent permitted by applicable law."
Trump mocked a past attempt by the Biden administration, which was eventually shelved, to reduce the speed limit of vessels longer than 65 feet to 11 miles per hour in a push to protect endangered whales.
"That doesn't sound very exciting," Trump said. "Can you imagine? You're going out 2,500 miles, and you're going 10 miles an hour."
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New Trump orders loosen regulations on hunting, recreational fishing
