Trump Orders Open Two Monuments to Hunting, Back Lead Ammo
President Trump signed a pair of Executive Orders on Thursday, September 17, that hand hunters new ground to chase game, protect their right to run traditional lead ammo and tackle, and take aim at the saltwater regulations anglers have long griped about. Trump laid out the moves during a Rose Garden speech, where he said he would “eliminate absurd federal regulations on saltwater anglers.”
New Hunting Access on Federal Land
The hunting-focused order, “Expanding Access to Federal Lands,” directs the Department of the Interior to allow hunting on the Castle Mountains National Monument in California and the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Craters of the Moon covers roughly 740,000 acres and is jointly managed by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. NPS oversees Castle Mountains, a monument spanning close to 21,000 acres in the Mojave Desert’s eastern reaches.
The order also aims to improve access to hard-to-reach federal lands and waters through what the Administration describes as “practical access opportunities, including voluntary access easements, land exchanges, cooperative agreements with States and local governments, and other tools that respect private property rights.”
The Lead Ammo Provision
Under a distinct clause, Interior is told to allow hunters and anglers to keep using traditional lead ammo and tackle. The order does not specify which existing lead prohibitions the Administration plans to abolish. Federal wildlife officials already outlaw lead shotgun loads for waterfowl hunting across the country, a rule the Fish & Wildlife Service enforces because the metal poisons birds. No comparable across-the-board prohibition applies to big-game hunters on federal ground, though copper and other alternatives are sometimes encouraged because lead fragments in gut piles can poison scavenging raptors.
Saltwater Fishing Rules Targeted
The second order, “Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation,” tells DOI, USDA, and NOAA to revise or scrap regulations the Administration views as excessively heavy-handed, including tight offshore speed limits. It also seeks to modernize and digitize fishing data collection and establishes a task force to “address the rising rate of shark and pinniped depredation” on game fish.
Industry and Conservation Response
Attendees at the ceremony included Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, and executives from Polaris, Yamaha Marine Group, and Beretta USA. Ducks Unlimited, the Boone & Crockett Club, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the National Wild Turkey Federation were also represented.
Ducks Unlimited CEO Adam Putnam called the order “an acknowledgment of hunters’ longstanding contributions to conservation, hunting access, sound waterfowl science, and hunter education.” The White House release also carried endorsements from the Mule Deer Foundation, Delta Waterfowl, the National Deer Association, and the Wild Sheep Foundation.
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, absent from the ceremony, offered qualified support. Eastern Policy and Conservation Manager Chris Borgatti said the orders reflect priorities the group has advanced for years and that BHA is “excited for the opportunity to work directly with the Administration to ensure the details reflect the needs of public land owners.” The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, also not in attendance, welcomed the emphasis on wildlife corridors, landlocked public land access, and fisheries science.
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