News Category: Hunting

Why It Matters: As the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has covered on many occasions, Massachusetts and Maine remain the only two states in the country with an outright ban on Sunday hunting. On March 19, 2026, Governor Maura Healey, flanked by agency brass and even renowned conservationist Jeff Corwin of The Corwin Experience and Animal Planet fame, announced that her administration seeks to repeal the long-standing prohibition […]

Why It Matters: The South Dakota legislative session came to a close in early March. Legislators in the Mount Rushmore State introduced their fair share of legislation that would have had an impact on sportsmen and women. With the close of the session, legislators were successful in passing suppressor clarification legislation, a legislative priority for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF).   Highlights:  The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation was active […]

Why It Matters: The 2026 legislative sessions in Oregon and Washington recently concluded, delivering a mix of victories and setbacks for sportsmen and women amid competing priorities and tight budgets in both states. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), Washington and Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucuses, and coalition partners helped secure protection and funding in some areas while defending against threats. Staying actively involved with lawmakers, agencies, and […]

Why It Matters: The 2026 general legislative session has kicked off in the “Sportsman’s Paradise”, and legislators have wasted no time in introducing dozens of bills impacting wildlife and fisheries. Among those are reining in the commercial menhaden industry, expanding recreational hunting opportunities, protecting sensitive data from public records requests, and much more.  Highlights:  Louisiana is known as the “Sportsman’s Paradise” for […]

March 18, 2026 (Washington, D.C.) – This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed four legislative priorities for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF): the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act, the Mitigation Action and Watermen Support (MAWS) Act of 2026, the Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act of 2025, and the Save Our Sequoias (SOS) Act. Thanks to the active work of Members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s […]

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 […]

Why It Matters: Exposing young people to the fundamentals of our time-honored traditions is essential in recruiting the next generation of hunters. Bringing hunter safety education classes into schools offers a controlled and safe environment for students to learn the fundamentals needed to safely participate and enjoy our favorite pastimes and continue funding conservation through the […]

Why It Matters: Whether it’s the funding of conservation today or enabling the next generation of sporting license buyers, there are bills moving through the Tennessee General Assembly that would benefit the sporting-conservation community both short and long-term. Hunters and anglers generate the vast majority of state-level conservation funding through the “user pays – public benefits” structure that is the American System of […]

Why It Matters: Currently, Maryland has some Sunday hunting allowances that differ from county to county and species to species. However, the “Old Line State” still has the centuries-old blue law on the books, which legislatively prohibits the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from fully managing wildlife species through hunting season dates, which would simplify public input via the regulatory process  versus the […]

Why It Matters: In recent years, there has been an increase in legislation proposed to allow landowners to transfer or sell their limited landowner hunting permits. Allowing landowners to profit from access to public trust wildlife resources on the basis of landownership contradicts foundational conservation principles that have guided American fish and wildlife management policies. The Congressional Sportsmen’s…

Why It Matters: African “Big 5 trophy” bans would ban the import of products from the “Big 5” African animals (which includes elephants, cape buffalo, rhinoceros, and more). Conservation of these species is far more complicated in Africa than our own practices in the USA. Simply put, if these animals (and others) lose their monetary value, locals no longer have an incentive to conserve and maintain populations resulting in unchecked harvest and the categorizing of many as vermin and…

Why It Matters: The Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) has issued strong opposition to Oregon Initiative Petition 28 (IP-28), a ballot measure that, if passed, would criminalize lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, along with other traditionally accepted practices such as wildlife management, pest control, animal husbandry, and agriculture.  Highlights:  IP-28 would eliminate exemptions from animal abuse statutes for lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife management, pest control, and standard agricultural practices.  The loss…