Feds Expand Public Land Hunting and Fishing Opportunities
The recent announcement about expanded public land hunting and fishing by the Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is being celebrated by the National Deer Alliance (NDA) and the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA). Now in place is a final rule establishing and expanding hunting and fishing opportunities across more than 2.3 million acres at 147 national wildlife refuges and national fish hatcheries.
900 New Places Open To Public Land Hunting
The final rule represents the single largest expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in history. Specifically, the rule creates nearly 900 new hunting and fishing opportunities nationwide via the Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System and National Fish Hatchery System.
“We know that one of the barriers to people beginning to hunt or even continuing to hunt is not having access to quality places to go,” said Nick Pinizzotto, President and CEO of NDA and QDMA. “This action is another step in the right direction when it comes to providing access for the hunters of today and tomorrow.”
New Fishing Opportunities Too
These new additions increase huntable National Wildlife Refuge System units to 430 and fishable units to 360. Additionally, the new rule opens nine National Fish Hatchery System units to hunting or fishing. The rule also seeks to better align federal refuge hunting and fishing regulations with those of the state in which the refuge is situated. For instance, the rule ensures that whenever refuge regulations depart from state regulations, for safety or conservation compatibility reasons, these extra regulations are consistent across all refuges in a given state.
NDA and QDMA highlight hunter access as a key focus area, and the final rule expands hunter access nationwide at a scale never seen before. New refuge opportunities include the opening of migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting, and sport fishing at Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge in Florida for the first time.
The opening of Bamforth National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming to upland game and big game hunting for the first time and the opening of sport fishing for the first time and the expanding of existing migratory bird, upland game and big game hunting to
new acres at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in West Virginia are all also included. In addition, numerous refuges and hatcheries will see expansions to already-existing opportunities.
“This is a huge win for sportsmen and women,” said Kip Adams, QDMA’s Director of Conservation. “The newly opened acreage is about one and a half times the size of the state of Delaware. That’s a tremendous area for hunters and anglers.”
To view a complete list of newly opened or expanded refuges and hatcheries, go to www.FWS.gov.
More About National Deer Alliance
The National Deer Alliance is a nonprofit conservation organization with a mission to serve as the guardian for wild deer conservation and our hunting heritage. Focusing primarily on issues at the policy level, NDA is a leader in advocating for sustainable, science-based conservation of wild deer and fair-chase hunting, and is a source for credible, responsible, and timely information. NDA is an established and respected leader in the fight against chronic wasting disease. Learn more at nationaldeeralliance.com
Steven Paul Barlow is a retired sergeant/station commander and former firearms instructor with the New York State Police. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, and enthusiast with all things related to firearms, knives, and survival. He has been writing on outdoor topics for more than 35 years. His collections of outdoor humor stories are available at BriarHill Books.
Hunt Day or Night