Why It Matters: Though hunting, fishing, and harvesting wildlife (including by trapping) have long been an American tradition, dating back to before the first Europeans arrived in North America, only in recent decades has the “right” to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife come into question. To establish in perpetuity what has been assumed for centuries, twenty-four states have now amended their constitutions to give their citizens a right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife and to continue a consumptive, yet responsible, use of natural resources. Despite a groundswell of support, including backing from the New Hampshire Fish and Game and many in-state and national organizations, the New Hampshire House failed to meet the 3/5 threshold, killing the chance of Granite Staters being able to vote on the issue this November.
Highlights:
- On March 4, 2026, New Hampshire CACR 15, Right to Hunt and Harvest Game and Fish, was passed out of the House Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee 8-6 along party lines due to two last-minute substitutions for legislators who had previously committed to support the effort.
- CACR 15 received a full House Floor vote on March 11, 2026, where it narrowly failed to meet the 3/5 threshold for passage.
- CACR 15 was brought forward and sponsored in a bipartisan fashion by New Hampshire Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. James Spillane and Rep. Will Darby, working alongside the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF).
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, along with the New Hampshire Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, are disappointed in the outcome of the March 11, 2026, House Floor vote, where CACR 15 narrowly failed to reach the 3/5 threshold required for a New Hampshire state constitutional amendment in each chamber.
Going into both the House Fish and Game and Marine Resources vote on March 4, 2026, and the House vote, CSF orchestrated two successful and enthusiastic social media awareness campaigns with many national partners, industry personalities, in-state partners, and local industry influencers reaching combined audiences of over 2 million followers and subscribers. Additionally, CSF deployed a successful grassroots action alert to New Hampshire residents, garnering over 1,000 messages of support submitted to individuals’ local state representatives. The New Hampshire AFL-CIO also partnered with CSF and the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, representing over 4,000 Building Trades and Service labor members, to stand in solidarity with New Hampshire’s sporting community as many of the hardworking members of organized labor are active sportsmen and women who sought to have their rights and traditions protected with CACR 15.
Despite this monumental effort and coalescing of sportsmen and women from all across the state, CACR 15 ultimately fell victim to partisan politics, a misinformation and smear campaign perpetrated by the opposition, and over 16% of the legislature either not voting or absent, including many legislators who would have been easy “yes” votes had they showed up to the Chamber to weigh in on the issue. Despite all of those factors, the measure still just narrowly missed the passage threshold.
CSF’s grassroots efforts were successful in recruiting many legislators from both sides of the aisle who understood the importance of CACR 15 and heard the calls of support from their constituents but ultimately, Granite Staters were robbed of the opportunity to vote on the issue in November.
While CSF, our partners, and Caucus leadership are extremely disappointed in this outcome, silver linings abound. The foundation that was built through this year’s efforts, the coalescing of so many stakeholders coming together in bipartisan support, the amount of direct engagement, and the enthusiasm generated for this issue in the last couple of weeks was nothing short of monumental. When this issue comes up again (and it most certainly will), the New Hampshire sporting community, our partners and friends in organized labor, and so many more, will be ready to answer the call again.
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