New refuge rule touts expanded access to hunting and fishing, but only for lead-free ammunition and tackle users
On August 1, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced the proposed 2024-25 Hunt Fish Rule – an annual rulemaking undertaken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) intended to increase access and opportunity for hunters and anglers within the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS).
The proposed rule creates 53 new hunting and fishing opportunities across 12 refuges and 211,000 acres. However, the new ‘opportunities’ are only available to hunters and anglers not using lead ammunition or fishing tackle. Stemming in part from a sue-and-settle scheme by the Center for Biological Diversity, which was first uncovered and continually called out by the Sportsmen’s Alliance, recent hunt fish rules have included pathways to phase-out the use of lead ammo and tackle for existing opportunities, and FWS has adopted a ‘no new lead’ policy for its hunting and fishing ‘expansions.’
“The Fish and Wildlife Service is again trying to hoodwink hunters and anglers with talk of new and expanded opportunities,” said Todd Adkins, vice president of government affairs at Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “We won’t be distracted by shiny objects and bright lights, though. ‘Expansion’ is a misnomer for any new opportunity that excludes lead-based ammo or tackle. The science doesn’t support it, and the service is doing nothing more than giving into the ideologies of animal extremists.”
The current science – which hasn’t evolved in recent years and which FWS does not cite in its proposed rule – on the environmental impacts of lead ammunition and tackle does not warrant a full ban on their use across the NWRS. In fact, an outright ban is neither logical nor feasible, and expansions that limit or ban the use of lead ammo and tackle hardly qualify as new opportunities. Options and availability for non-lead ammo and tackle are limited, and when they can be found on store shelves, they’re significantly more expensive than lead-based options.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation does appreciate FWS’ yearly effort to expand hunting and fishing on the NWRS – a system financed by hunter dollars and designed for wildlife-dependent recreation, of which hunting and fishing are priority uses as a matter of law with the passage of the 1997 Refuge Improvement Act, which was written and shepherded through Congress by the Sportsmen’s Alliance. But we also call a spade a spade, and this is no expansion. We’ll continue to educate and aid FWS is making new opportunities truly accessible, including through comments on the proposed 2024-25 Hunt Fish Rule.
“We have litigated lead-ammo restrictions on the refuge system in the past, are currently litigating one now in a case involving the Canaan Valley Refuge in West Virginia, and we will continue to do so in the future,” said Michael Jean, litigation counsel at Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “Hunter dollars are the primary source of funds for acquiring new lands in the refuge system. Hunters should be able to use and enjoy the refuge system that they paid for – unburdened by arbitrary restrictions.”
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
