News Category: Wildlife Management

May 11, 2026

Michigan Sporting Priorities Await Final Legislative Push 

Why It Matters: From protecting sportsmen’s interests at the ballot box, to ensuring access to safe shooting ranges, to meeting the financial needs of conservation efforts, Michigan’s docket is packed with legislation that stands to positively impact sportsmen and women. With a little over six months remaining in the 2025-2026 session, there is plenty of work to be done to […]

May 4, 2026

Oregon Initiative Petition 28 Inches Closer to Ballot – Threatening Hunters, Anglers, Trappers, and Ranchers

Why It Matters: The People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions (PEACE) Act, currently known as IP-28, threatens to criminalize longstanding traditions of hunting, fishing, trapping, farming, and even pest control by removing critical exemptions from Oregon’s animal cruelty statutes. If passed, the measure would upend access to local, quality meat resources for millions of Oregonians, devastate rural economies, and undermine the […]

April 27, 2026

A Look Back at the Second Half of Maine’s Biennium  

Why It Matters: To say things in Augusta have been contentious over the ’25-’26 legislative session would be putting it mildly. Deep-rooted divides, partisan axe-grinding, and all-out obstructionism made advocacy efforts feel like a one-day hike up Everest. Despite the political climate in the state house, several wins were secured for sportsmen and women, but, but other important legislation unfortunately fell short. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and the Maine Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) were able to deliver wins […]

April 27, 2026

Arkansas Fiscal Session Update 

Why It Matters: While legislation pertaining to sportsmen and women is primarily limited to the state fish and wildlife agency’s budget during Arkansas’ biannual fiscal session, 2026 has still been a great opportunity to promote support for sportsmen and women across the Natural State.  Highlights:  Earlier this month, the Arkansas State Legislature convened for the 2026 legislative session, an abbreviated fiscal session that takes place every even year. […]

April 20, 2026

Expanding Wild Game Donation Opportunities in Hawaii 

Why It Matters: Across the country, donation programs have been developed to help turn legally harvested game and meat from nuisance or crop damage licenses into meals for those in need. Each year, many hunters choose to donate animals harvested through regulated hunting, continuing a long tradition of providing food not only for their own families, but also for others in their […]

April 13, 2026

WDFW Commission Prepares to Meet Amid Ongoing Controversy 

Why It Matters: The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Commission is set to convene April 16-18, 2026, amid mounting legal challenges that could distract from essential, science-driven wildlife management decisions. Sportsmen and women depend on stable, predictable policies rooted in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation to sustain hunting, fishing, and habitat […]

April 6, 2026

Bipartisan Effort Defeats Public Land Beaver Trapping Ban in Colorado 

Why It Matters: Attempts to manage wildlife through the legislation, like Colorado House Bill 1323 (HB 1323), while perhaps well intentioned, rarely benefit sportspeople or follow best available science. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (NAMWC) is a set of seven principles that codify the United States’ approach to wildlife management, where wildlife is managed as public trust resources for the benefit of all citizens, and the system is funded through the “user-pays, public-benefits” American System of […]

March 23, 2026

Key Wins and Challenges for Sportsmen and Women, as Oregon and Washington Adjourn Sine Die 

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 […]

March 23, 2026

New Jersey Legislation Seeks to Appoint Animal Welfare Representatives to the Fish and Game Council  

Why It Matters: Across the nation, state fish and wildlife agencies, or, more specifically, fish and wildlife boards/commissions/councils, are seeing a push for non-consumptive representation. This poses a threat to conservation, as sportsmen and women are the primary funders of state-level conservation efforts. Such legislation (Assembly Bill 2005 [A2005]/Senate Bill 471 [S471]) seeks to strip three of the six seats for sportsmen on the council and insert three seats for individuals from animal […]

March 18, 2026

Sportsmen Score Big on House Passage of Four Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation-Backed Bills  

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 […]

March 16, 2026

Fur Ban Advances in Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, Despite Heavy Opposition

Why It Matters: State fish and wildlife agencies, like Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), are the fundamental entities that secure our sporting heritage. CPW biologists and game wardens professionally manage our wildlife for the benefit of all members of the public, even though the vast majority of CPW funding comes from sportspeople. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is the rule-making arm for CPW, […]

March 16, 2026

Reimbursement for Free and Discounted Licenses Heard in Kansas  

Why It Matters: Legislation to ensure Kansas’ state fish and wildlife agency is reimbursed for revenue that is lost from free and discounted licenses was heard in the House Committee on Appropriations. A legislative priority for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), reimbursing state fish and wildlife agencies for lost revenue ensures that they continue their conservation efforts. Some state agencies rely solely […]