Why It Matters: The Trump Administration recently released its first progress report on implementation of the Make America Beautiful Again (MABA) Commission, providing sportsmen and women with a roadmap of its conservation and outdoor recreation priorities. From expanding access to hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting opportunities to investing in habitat conservation and modernizing fish and wildlife management, the report reflects many of the policies the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has long championed. The report reinforces a conservation approach centered on public access, collaborative stewardship, science-based management, and strong partnerships with states, private landowners, and the sporting-conservation community.
Highlights
- Expanding Access: The report emphasizes new hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting opportunities on federal lands, implementation of the EXPLORE Act, investments in outdoor recreation infrastructure, and a new Department of the Interior policy establishing hunting and fishing as the default recreational use on federally managed public lands unless lawful exceptions apply.
- Strengthening Conservation: The report highlights continued investments in the Great American Outdoors Act, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, wetlands conservation, fish and wildlife habitat restoration, fish passage, and voluntary conservation programs that support healthy ecosystems while working collaboratively with states and private landowners.
- Modernizing Management: The report also highlights efforts to modernize fisheries management using updated science, expand recreational fishing opportunities, streamline permitting, improve habitat through initiatives such as Rigs-to-Reefs, and reduce regulatory barriers.
Last week, the Trump Administration released the Make America Beautiful Again progress report, outlining actions taken to implement the Executive Order establishing the MABA Commission. Organized around five priorities—promoting stewardship while supporting economic growth; increasing access to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation; expanding voluntary conservation; reducing unnecessary bureaucracy; and recovering fish and wildlife through collaborative conservation—the report recognizes sportsmen and women as indispensable partners in conserving America’s natural resources. That recognition reflects a principle CSF has advanced for decades: America’s hunters and anglers are the nation’s first and most effective conservationists and remain essential to the future of fish, wildlife, and their habitats.
Among the report’s most significant announcements is a new Department of the Interior policy directing that hunting and fishing be considered the default recreational use on federally managed public lands wherever legally appropriate through Secretary Burgum’s January Secretarial Order. The report also highlights 42 new hunting and sport fishing opportunities across more than 87,000 acres within the National Wildlife Refuge and National Fish Hatchery Systems through the Hunt Fish Rule, continued implementation of the bipartisan EXPLORE Act to improve outdoor recreation access—including new target shooting opportunities—and ongoing investments through the Great American Outdoors Act and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Together, these actions reinforce the Administration’s commitment to expanding public access while supporting America’s time-honored sporting traditions.
The report also places significant emphasis on collaborative conservation. It highlights investments in wetland restoration, fish passage, forest conservation, and voluntary conservation programs that partner with private landowners, farmers, ranchers, Tribes, conservation organizations, and state fish and wildlife agencies to restore habitat while maintaining productive working lands. This cooperative, incentive-based approach to conservation has long been a cornerstone of CSF’s policy priorities because it delivers meaningful conservation outcomes while respecting private property rights and the authority of state fish and wildlife agencies.
For sportsmen, the report also signals continued efforts to modernize natural resource management. On the fisheries side, the Administration highlights improving management through updated science, habitat enhancement initiatives such as Rigs-to-Reefs, streamlined permitting, and policies designed to improve recreational fishing opportunities. Equally important are the report’s commitments to active wildlife management, habitat restoration, and reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers that can delay on-the-ground conservation projects. Together, these initiatives recognize that effective conservation depends on balancing healthy fish and wildlife populations with sustained public access and responsible use.
CSF appreciates the Administration’s continued commitment to advancing policies that benefit sportsmen and women while strengthening America’s conservation legacy. The report reflects many priorities that CSF continues to advance through the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses, and the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus, including expanding access, supporting state-led fish and wildlife management, investing in habitat conservation, and ensuring future generations can enjoy our nation’s hunting and angling traditions.
