More hunting, few limits: Trump lifts restrictions in national parks and wilderness areas

The article includes reactions from officials and advocates. Dan Wenk, former Yellowstone National Park superintendent, questions the costs and safety implications and suggests the process may bypass public discussion. Elaine Leslie, former head of the National Park Service’s biological resources department, criticizes the move as weakening science-based management. Interior Department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace defends the order as commonsense and notes that any closures or restrictions needed for safety or resource protection would remain. Conservation groups such as the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Ducks Unlimited express support for increased public-land access.

The article outlines the administration's push to expand hunting and fishing access across national parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas by rolling back restrictions. The plan is reported to apply to 55 National Park Service sites in the lower 48 states, with some locations already lifting restrictions on hunting stands that damage trees, training hunting dogs, using vehicles to retrieve hunted animals, and hunting along trails. Potential park changes include Cape Cod National Seashore (Massachusetts) potentially allowing hunting through spring and summer; Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (Texas) could allow hunters to clean animals in park bathrooms; and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (Louisiana) could permit alligator hunting. The piece notes hunting is currently allowed on around 51 million acres of NPS land across 76 sites (about 8 million acres in the contiguous United States) and fishing is allowed at 213 sites. The Interior Department defends the order as commonsense, while hunting and conservation groups praise its aim to increase access and streamline regulations.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directs agencies under the U.S. Department of the Interior to remove what he describes as unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers to hunting and fishing. Agencies must justify any restrictions they wish to retain. He states that public lands should be open to hunting and fishing unless a specific, documented, and legally supported exception applies.