Why it Matters: Legislative sessions in Iowa and Nebraska have adjourned for 2026, closing out the last active sessions in the Great Plains Region. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation was active in both states, working with legislators on introducing, and defeating, legislation that would have impacted sportsmen and women.
Highlights:
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) was active in Iowa and Nebraska in both introducing pro-sportsmen and women legislation and defeating legislation that would have violated the Public Trust Doctrine.
- Iowa Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Senator Lynn Evans introduced Senate File 2130, a CSF legislative priority, which would have provided hunting, trapping, or fishing license purchasers the opportunity to register vote.
- CSF opposed Nebraska Legislative Bill 1197, which would have allowed landowners to sell their hunting permits.
Iowa legislators introduced their fair share of sportsmen and women related bills this year, and many were also carried over from the 2025 legislative session. House File 536 (HF 536) and Senate File 1197 (SF 1197) were both CSF legislative priorities introduced during the 2025/2026 legislative session. HF 536 would have created an elective firearm, hunting, and wildlife curriculum for students in grades six through eight that school districts could choose to implement, while SF 2130 would have provided Iowa residents purchasing a hunting, trapping, or fishing license with a voter registration application. Senate Joint Resolution 7, a proposed constitutional amendment for the right to hunt and fish had momentum during the 2025 session but ultimately failed to move in 2026 due to amendments made to the legislation. Though these bills failed to make it across the finish line this session, positive momentum was made to continue these efforts into the next session.
Nebraska also saw legislation that would have negatively impacted the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Legislative Bill 1197 would have allowed landowners to sell their limited landowner hunting tags. The ability to transfer these tags would essentially privatize wildlife, which is in direct violation of the Public Trust Doctrine – a longstanding tenet of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Wildlife is managed by state fish and wildlife agencies, like the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, for the benefit of the public, not for the profit of private individuals. CSF successfully opposed the legislation, and the bill was ultimately defeated.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation would like to thank the legislators in Iowa and Nebraska for continuing to support sportsmen and women in the Hawkeye and Cornhusker States and will continue to advocate for pro-sporting policies in future legislative sessions.