By Todd Richmond, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. — President Donald Trump’s administration is quietly pushing national park, refuge, and wilderness area managers to dramatically scale back hunting restrictions, raising questions about visitor safety and the impact on wildlife.
U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order in January directing multiple agencies to remove what he termed “unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers” to hunting and fishing and justify regulations they want to keep in place.
“Expanding opportunities for the public to hunt and fish on Department-managed lands not only strengthens conservation outcomes, but also supports rural economies, public health, and access to America’s outdoor spaces,” Burgum wrote. “The Department’s policy is clear: public and federally managed lands should be open to hunting and fishing unless a specific, documented, and legally supported exception applies.”
The order applies to 55 sites in the lower 48 states under the National Park Service’s jurisdiction, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. Managers at various locations have already lifted prohibitions on using hunting stands that damage trees, training hunting dogs, using vehicles to retrieve animals, and hunting along trails, according to an NPCA review of site regulations the organization recently performed after learning of the order. The New York Times was the first to report on the changes.
The hunting season in the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, for example, 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.
Burgum’s order comes as hunting continues to decline amid increasing urbanization. Only about 4.2% of the U.S. population identified as hunters older than 16 in 2024, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Census data, leaving state wildlife agencies short on revenue from license sales and excise taxes on guns and ammunition.
