Why it matters: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) provides significant access opportunities for sportsmen and women, primarily through the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), which supports more than 2.4 million hunting related visits and 7.3 million fishing visits annually. Access to NWRS managed lands and waters for hunting and fishing is critical for our outdoor traditions; however, access is defined by more than acres and lands that are open to hunting. Access also includes allowances for methods of take, as is the case with this proposal rule.
Highlights:
- Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the proposed 2024 – 2025 Hunt Fish Rule, which is an annual effort that is intended to increase opportunities for sportsmen and women, and to align state and federal hunting and fishing regulations within the National Wildlife Refuge System.
- The proposed Hunt Fish Rule is a mixed bag for sportsmen and women as it seeks to expand access across 211,000 acres covering 12 different NWRS units and encompasses 53 distinct hunting and fishing opportunities. Unfortunately, the proposal also seeks to prohibit the use of traditional ammunition and tackle for newly expanded opportunities.
- While the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) strongly supports and appreciates the efforts by FWS to expand hunting and fishing opportunities, we are concerned that this proposal arbitrarily limits the use of traditional ammunition and tackle for new opportunities, which in turn can make access more challenging for sportsmen and women.
On Thursday, August 1, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife announced the 2024 – 2025 Hunt Fish Rule, which includes victories for sportsmen and women as well as some concerning constraints.
On one hand, the Hunt Fish Rule is a step in the right direction for sportsmen and women with the expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities across 211,000 acres. At a time when access is becoming more challenging for hunting and fishing, we are pleased to see federal agencies making strides to improve and expand hunting opportunities within our federal public lands.
On the other hand, CSF is concerned to see that the use of lead ammunition is arbitrarily restricted for use in the newly expanded opportunities. This action is certainly not aligned with state fishing and hunting regulations or the preferred approach of state fish and wildlife agencies through educational efforts and voluntary, incentive-based programming rather than outright bans. With this, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is creating confusion for sportsmen and women, law enforcement, and others by overlapping non-lead hunting opportunities with hunting opportunities where hunters can make their own determination as to what type of ammunition they prefer while afield. For instance, sportsmen and women can use traditional ammunition on one side of the fence but crossing over into one of the newly opened areas of a refuge unit they are restricted from using lead ammunition. Furthermore, the proposal also does not appear to follow any scientific justification for what seems to be a random consortium of refuge units.
Additionally, the restriction of lead ammunition for newly expanded opportunities in the proposal appears to run counter to the voluntary, non-prohibitive, non-lead pilot projects announced by FWS less than two weeks ago. These pilot projects seek to allow hunters to make their own determination as to what type of ammunition they prefer while afield rather than arbitrary restrictions on the use of this highly popular method of take. CSF maintains that restrictions on the use of lead ammunition and tackle should follow a science driven process, which does not appear to be the case for this proposed Hunt Fish Rule.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation will continue to advocate for increased access for sportsmen and women and will continue to defend arbitrary limitations on the use of highly popular methods of take such as traditional ammunition and tackle.
