Trump Administration Relaxes Hunting and Fishing Rules at 55 National Park Service Sites

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order in January directing multiple agencies to remove unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers to hunting and fishing and to justify regulations they want to keep. The directive applies to 55 sites in the lower 48 states under the National Park Service’s jurisdiction.

Managers at various locations have already lifted prohibitions on hunting stands that damage trees, training hunting dogs, using vehicles to retrieve animals and hunting along trails.

The New York Times was the first to report on the changes. Among the specific adjustments, the hunting season in the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts would be extended through the spring and summer. Hunters in the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area in Texas would be allowed to clean their kills in bathrooms, and hunters would be allowed to kill alligators in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Louisiana.

Hunting is currently allowed across about 51 million National Park Service acres spanning 76 sites. Only about 8 million of those acres lie in the contiguous United States with the rest in Alaska. Fishing is allowed in 213 sites.

NPS sites typically adopt state hunting and fishing regulations although they can impose restrictions that go beyond them to protect public safety and wildlife resources. S. S.

U.S. Census data.

““Process never seems to stand in the way of many things with this administration.””

“— Dan Wenk, former Yellowstone National Park superintendent and NPS deputy operations director, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Dan Wenk, a former Yellowstone National Park superintendent and NPS deputy operations director, said park managers established their regulations by talking with stakeholders and that most of the restrictions have been widely accepted. He said it makes no sense for the Trump administration to upend that structure without substantial public discussion. Wenk added, “I’d love to know the problem we’re trying to solve.” Interior Department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said in an email that the order is a commonsense approach to public land management. She said any closures or limits needed for public safety, resource protection or legal compliance will remain in place. Peace stated that for decades sportsmen and women have been some of the strongest stewards of our public lands and that the order ensures their access is not unnecessarily restricted by outdated or overly broad limitations that are not required by law. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership posted a statement online in January calling the order a balance between wildlife management and outdoor traditions hunters and anglers support. Ducks Unlimited posted a statement in March saying Burgum’s order recognizes duck hunters’ vital role. Ducks Unlimited stated that this process will streamline federal regulations, make them more consistent with existing state rules, and provide more public-land access for outdoor recreation. Doug Burgum is the US Secretary of the Interior.”