Trump is lifting restrictions on hunting in national parks, refuges and wilderness areas

MADISON, Wis. — President Donald Trump’s administration is quietly pushing managers of national parks, refuges and wilderness areas to significantly reduce hunting restrictions, raising questions about visitor safety and the impact on wildlife.

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order in January directing several agencies to remove what he called “unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers” to hunting and fishing and to justify the regulations they want to keep in place.

“Expanding opportunities for the public to hunt and fish on Department-managed lands not only strengthens conservation outcomes, but also supports rural economies, public health, and access to America’s outdoors,” Burgum wrote. “The Department’s policy is clear: public and federally managed lands should be open to hunting and fishing, unless a specific, documented and legally supported exception applies.

Order paves way for tree stands, dog training and more

The order applies to 55 sites in the lower 48 states under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. Managers at various locations have already lifted bans on hunting stands that damage trees and on the training of hunting dogs, the use of vehicles to retrieve animals and hunting along trails, according to an NPCA review of site regulations that the organization recently conducted after learning of the order. The New York Times was the first to report these changes.

The hunting season in the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, for example, would be extended into the spring and summer. Hunters at Lake Meredith National Recreation Area in Texas would be allowed to clean their prey in toilets. And hunters would be allowed to kill alligators in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Louisiana.

An effort to save hunting?

Burgum’s order comes as hunting continues to decline in the face of increasing urbanization. According to data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Census data, only about 4.2 percent of the U.S. population identified as hunters over the age of 16 in 2024, leaving state wildlife agencies short on revenue from license sales and excise taxes on firearms and ammunition.

Hunting advocates and conservative policymakers have explored multiple avenues to keep hunting alive, including promoting the sport to women and young children, creating seasons for more species, and expanding hunter access to public lands.

Hunting is currently allowed on about 51 million National Park Service acres across 76 sites, although only about 8 million acres are in the contiguous United States, the rest in Alaska, according to the NPS website. Fishing is authorized on 213 sites. NPS sites generally adopt state hunting and fishing regulations, although they may impose restrictions that go beyond those regulations to protect public safety and wildlife resources, such as prohibiting shooting along a trail or near buildings.

“I would like to know what problem we are trying to solve”

Dan Wenk, former Yellowstone National Park superintendent and NPS deputy director of operations, said park managers established their regulations by talking with stakeholders and, as a result, most restrictions were widely accepted. He said it would make no sense for the Trump administration to upend that structure without extensive public debate.

“The process never seems to get in the way of a lot of things with this administration,” Wenk said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “It’s never been a big deal. I’d like to know what problem we’re trying to solve. Then I can understand the costs it will take to solve it in terms of resources and visitor safety.”

Interior Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Peace said in an email that the order is a “common-sense approach to managing public lands” and promised that any closures or limits necessary for public safety, resource protection or compliance with the law would remain in effect.

“For decades, sportsmen have been among the most ardent stewards of our public lands,” she said, “and this ordinance ensures that their access is not unnecessarily restricted by outdated or overbroad limitations that are not required by law.”

She did not immediately respond to a follow-up message asking whether the department had undertaken any public outreach efforts before issuing the order.

Hunting groups applaud the order

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, which works to preserve access to hunting and fishing, released a statement online in January calling for a balance between wildlife management and supporting hunters and anglers with outdoor traditions. Ducks Unlimited released a statement in March saying Burgum’s order recognized the “vital role” of duck hunters.

“This process will streamline federal regulations, make them more consistent with existing state rules, and provide greater access to public lands for outdoor recreation. Thank you, Secretary Burgum, for putting America’s hunters and anglers first,” the release said.

Elaine Leslie, former head of the NPS Department of Biological Resources, said Trump is undermining a process that was put in place in good faith and that the order does not reflect science-based management.

“I don’t want to take my young grandchildren to a park only to have a hunter drag a gutted elk he shot across the parking lot of a visitor center. Or go into the bathroom where hunters clean their game,” Leslie said in a text to the AP. “There is a time and place for hunting, trapping and fishing… but that does not mean that every place should be open to all activities, especially at the expense of others and at the expense of our public resources.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.