Why it Matters: Scientifically driven and regulated hunting is the linchpin of conservation both domestically in the United States and across the world. A permitting process is part of ensuring sustainable and healthy populations across the globe. Given the importance of hunting-conservation programs, permit determinations are often made on an application-by-application basis, which can require lengthy review processes. Recently, a backlog of permit applications has frustrated would-be international hunters. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is making impressive progress to move the permitting process in the right direction.
Highlights:
- On October 6, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced the agency has made significant progress in the processing on hunting permits, a meaningful step in the right direction for sportsmen and women.
- Recently, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and a number of CSF’s partners that are leaders across the globe in sporting-conservation issues have been meeting with FWS to encourage the processing of permits and to find opportunities to collectively work together to reduce the permit backlog.
- Additionally, FWS stated that sporting-conservationists should expect to see “significant progress on permit application backlog in 2024”, a very encouraging sign for conservation and sportsmen and women.
On October 6, FWS announced important steps forward in the issue of conservation permits across the world. Specifically, FWS announced positive momentum for six different species across eight different countries, all of which will have a meaningful impact for sportsmen and women, host countries, and most importantly, conservation programs around the world.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation looks forward to working with FWS to continue to move the permitting process in the right direction and bring more surety to the approval hunter for prospective international hunters.
