The Sportsmen’s Alliance is the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler, and trapper, ensuring that the rights and traditions of millions of dog owners, breeders, and hunters worldwide are never compromised. When public access to federal lands is threatened, we are on the front lines, leading the legal battles to secure your future.
Background
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has recently initiated a series of arbitrary closures on public lands, severely restricting access for recreational shooters, hunters, and dog owners. This federal overreach threatens fundamental freedoms and violates the agency’s own multiple-use mandate, which requires federal lands to be open for activities like target shooting and hunting.
These issues came to a head in two separate national monuments. First, the BLM issued a final rule for the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, which included an outright prohibition on recreational shooting across 1.3 million acres. Second, the BLM finalized an amended plan for the Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona, suddenly closing 99% (over 480,000 acres) of the monument to recreational target shooting after caving to pressure from radical preservationist groups.
Impact to Hunters
These new rules create a dangerous precedent, throwing sportsmen off public land in violation of existing law and eliminating vital training opportunities. The closure of Bears Ears affects millions, as public lands often provide the only opportunity for recreational shooting in the Western United States. The BLM’s decision effectively rendered the public notice and comment process meaningless, forcing immediate legal action.
In Arizona, the Sonoran Desert closure was a complete reversal of a 2018 resource management plan that found recreational shooting compatible with 90% of the monument. By adopting preservationists’ extreme alternatives, the BLM disregarded its multiple-use mission, impacting sportsmen who rely on these lands for crucial access, and has conveniently forgotten its multiple-use mandate.
Where We Stand Now
The Sportsmen’s Alliance and the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (SAF) are fighting back on two fronts to secure your right to access and use public land.
For the illegal closure in Utah, the Sportsmen’s Alliance is actively challenging the BLM rule to keep public land truly public.
In Arizona, the SAF has filed a lawsuit against the BLM, arguing that the arbitrary closure is unlawful. Having exhausted all administrative remedies, litigation is the only available next step to hold the agency accountable and restore access. We promise the American sportsman: we will never give up and never give in while proudly securing our future against those seeking to destroy our values, beliefs, and traditions.
Help Us Fight for You
Your tax-deductible donation to the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund directly supports our legal fights in courtrooms nationwide. The Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund was established to represent sportsmen in lawsuits that affect your ability to hunt, fish, trap and own firearms. Its funding ensures the sportsman’s voice is heard above the rhetoric of anti-hunting groups.
Join the fight for your hunting and fishing future by donating to the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund today!
