Trump Expands Federal Hunting Access

President Trump signed an executive order Sept. 17 directing federal agencies to presume hunting access on public lands rather than restrict it.

Driving the news: Executive Order 14429, "Reinvigorating America's Hunting Heritage," was signed in a Rose Garden ceremony attended by NSSF President and CEO Joe Bartozzi. The order doesn't flip switches overnight — it sets deadlines for agencies to propose changes.

• 180 days: Federal land managers must review hunting restrictions and generally justify closures rather than justify access. National parks are exempt from that presumption.
• 90 days: Interior must open eligible-species hunting inside Castle Mountains National Monument and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, excluding federally protected species.
• 1 year: Interior must press state wildlife agencies to expand Sunday hunting — though states keep final say over their own laws.

The lead ammo fight: The order tells federal agencies to propose policies allowing traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle on public lands, a direct answer to years of NSSF pressure against broad bans the group says lack solid population-level science. NSSF has long argued that forcing hunters into pricier non-lead ammo pushes people out of the sport entirely — and that's money off the table for conservation funding, since firearm and ammo excise taxes under the Pittman-Robertson Act have generated more than $29 billion (inflation-adjusted) since 1937.

"This is a tremendous victory to ensure that America's hunting heritage is protected," Bartozzi said.

Beyond access, the order also tackles the hunter pipeline. Labor and Education must clarify funding rules for school archery and hunter-education programs. Interior has to find new ways to recruit young hunters and veterans, and the VA must prioritize hunting and fishing programs through its Adaptive Sports Grant Program. On the wildlife-management side, agencies are directed to coordinate habitat work, prescribed burns, invasive-species control and predator management, while USDA backs state venison-donation programs.

Reality check: Nothing here is self-executing. Every headline provision — public land access, lead ammo, Sunday hunting — depends on agencies actually writing and finalizing the regulations within their deadlines. Sunday hunting in particular stays a state issue; Interior can only encourage, not override.

What's next: Watch for proposed rules rolling out over the next two to twelve months as Interior, Agriculture, Labor, Education and the VA work through their assigned deadlines. NSSF says the direction is unmistakable — more hunters, more access, fewer federal roadblocks — but the real test comes when the paperwork catches up to the signing ceremony.