News Category: Hunting

Why It Matters: Maryland Senate Bill 181 (SB 181) requires the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to create a lead hunting ammunition phase-out plan on or before July 1, 2029. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) encourages the legislature and the Department of Natural Resources to work together to implement incentive-based programs for the use of non-lead hunting ammunition by hunters, […]

Why It Matters: As the Wyoming State Legislature enters their shortened 2026 budget session, new bills are being filed every day. These early bills can provide insight into the legislative focus for the coming session, and there are several bills relevant to sportsmen on the docket. This includes transferable landowner tags, expanded authorizations for the use of tracking dogs on wounded game, and Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) tax restructuring.  Highlights:  Wyoming’s…

Why It Matters: On February 3rd, Massachusetts will conclude a listening tour that consisted of three in-person and two virtual meetings to discuss eliminating the ban on Sunday hunting, allowing all hunters to use crossbows during archery seasons, and reducing archery hunting discharge distances to align more with neighboring states. These three provisions would have an immense impact on both hunting access and opportunities and will help with the state’s recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts.  Highlights:  Maine and Massachusetts…

Why It Matters: The Great Plains region saw two Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) legislative priorities introduced last week in Kansas and Iowa, respectively. The Kansas bill would ensure that the state’s fish and wildlife agency is reimbursed for revenue that is lost from free and discounted licenses, while the Iowa bill would encourage political participation by hunters and anglers through voter registration. …

Why It Matters: Today’s youth are the next generation tasked with carrying our time-honored traditions forward. Introducing them to the outdoors helps build the foundation needed to sustain those traditions into the future. Hunter safety education in schools programs play a key role in this effort by instilling a strong conservation ethic, teaching essential hunting safety skills, and encouraging youth to support the “user pays – public benefits” structure […]

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, […]

Why It Matters: Limiting access to Mississippi’s sportsmen and women through blanket bans on equipment, requiring individuals to have access to 2k contiguous acres of privately owned ground to hunt with, train, or utilize any hunting dog, and requiring people to obtain a depredation permit from the state to eliminate any nuisance animal is entirely unnecessary…

Why It Matters: Sportsmen and women are the backbone of wildlife conservation in the United States, funding the majority of state fish and wildlife agency efforts through the American System of Conservation Funding. In Washington state, challenges like steep budget cuts, predator-prey imbalances, habitat loss, and disease are all negatively impacting fish and wildlife populations. However, active legislative engagement is key to…

Why It Matters: The 2026 legislative session is off to a hot start in the Great Plains, with legislation impacting sportsmen and women already on the move. Some states have CSF priority legislation that is carried over from the 2025 legislative session in addition to new legislation that was introduced in 2026.   Highlights:  Iowa Senate Joint Resolution 7 (SJR 7) is a proposed constitutional amendment for…

Why It Matters: Meat processors play a critical role in the field-to-table journey for many successful hunters across the nation. Further, they represent a critical link in the success of game meat donation programs. Missouri’s existing tax credit program serves as a great incentive designed to increase the availability and capacity of meat processors in the Show-Me State, and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) is proud…

Why It Matters: As continuous efforts are made across the nation to undermine conservation funding through the prohibition of sportsmen and women’s beloved outdoor pastimes, Delaware Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chairs seek to proactively protect hunters, anglers, and trappers by introducing legislation that would amend the First State’s Constitution. Constitutional amendments to protect the right to hunt and fish represent one of…

Why It Matters: As emergent technologies potentially allow hunters and anglers to be more efficient and successful in the field, questions of fair chase ethics, and population stability inevitably follow shortly behind. State fish and wildlife agencies across the country are tasked with finding a suitable middle ground, where hunters and anglers can still take advantage of new technologies, without giving them an unfair advantage over wildlife and harvesting too many game species off the…