The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said more than 95% of national refuge lands could be open to hunting after proposed expansions.
The changes follow an order from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum earlier this year to remove barriers to hunting and fishing on public lands across agencies.
Land Tawney, the co-chair of American Hunters and Anglers, which advocates for public lands, supports the effort to provide more hunting and fishing opportunities at refuges.
“National wildlife refuges are set up to make sure the wildlife have places to go,” he said, “but they're also set up for other resources like recreation, which includes hunting, photography, bird watching.”
Hunting and fishing, Tawney noted, support conservation funding in the U.S. through licenses and taxes.
While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) said the changes mark the "largest expansion of hunting and sport fishing opportunities in agency history," Tawney said the agency evaluates hunting and fishing opportunities annually and that the proposals mostly allow for more species to hunt and fish and places already open. Yet there are some new locations.
In the Mountain West, sport fishing would be allowed for the first time at Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho and at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Big game hunting would open at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado, the first of any hunting allowed at the site, which once held a nuclear weapons plant.
Expanded hunting opportunities are also proposed at other refuges in Idaho, New Mexico, Wyoming and Montana.
Still, Tawney is concerned that federal staff cuts could get in the way of goals like more recreation on public lands. He also said efforts to expand oil and gas production could hinder wildlife and hunting at refuges like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
Sarah Rosa, the vice president of policy at the American Conservation Coalition, an organization started by young conservatives, also backed the changes and said they better match state hunting rules, including harvest limits and seasons.
“The more that you can align those, where it makes sense, I think will make it easier for hunters and fishers to recreate on these lands responsibly,” she said.
USFWS is accepting comments on the proposal through June 26.
The National Park Service also plans to remove hunting and fishing regulations as a result of the secretarial order. For the most part, this applies to recreation areas or preserves managed by the Park Service and not national parks, unless hunting is already allowed there.
“Americans should be able to access and enjoy their public lands without navigating unnecessary bureaucracy,” said Jessica Bowron, the acting director of the National Park Service, in a press release. “These changes improve clarity, reduce duplication and expand access where appropriate while ensuring the National Park Service continues to protect the extraordinary natural and cultural resources entrusted to our care.”
A spokesperson said hunting regulations are set to be updated at more than 30 Park Service sites, including Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Montana and Wyoming; Curecanti National Recreation Area and Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve in Colorado; Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument in Idaho; Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada and Arizona; and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona.
However, the public will not be able to comment on changes at these sites. Instead, each location’s updated policy will be posted on its website.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.