Trump to open up more national parks to hunting, eliminate many regulations

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U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order in January directing multiple agencies to remove what he termed "unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers" to hunting and fishing and justify 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 outdoor spaces," 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."

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Managers at various locations have already lifted prohibitions on hunting stands that damage trees and training hunting dogs, using vehicles to retrieve animals and hunting along trails,

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The hunting season in the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, for example, would be extended through the spring and summer. Hunters in the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area in Texas would be allowed to clean their kills in bathrooms. And hunters would be allowed to kill alligators in the 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. Only about 4.2% of the U.S. population identified as a hunter older than 16 in 2024, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Census data, leaving state wildlife agencies short on revenue from license sales and excise taxes on guns and ammunition.

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