Trump Signs Orders Expanding Hunting and Fishing Access

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on September 17 to expand outdoor recreation access and roll back regulations on hunting, fishing, and boating. Announced during a Rose Garden dinner with over 100 outdoor industry leaders, the first order, Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage, mandates that the Department of the Interior increase federal land available for outdoor use. This builds on an August action that opened 92 million acres across 32 states and protects the use of traditional lead ammunition.

A second order, Restoring America’s Saltwater Angling and Recreation, reverses Biden-era regulations by expanding fishing seasons and quotas and eliminating specific boating speed limits. The directive tasks the Departments of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers, with reducing restrictions on fisheries and charter operators. It further establishes a national policy to elevate marine recreational fishing, directing agencies to modernize data collection through mobile reporting and fast-track artificial reef creation via a federal Reef-in-Place Program.

Trump cited the $1.2 trillion annual economic impact of the outdoor recreation sector as a primary driver for these policies. He also announced that state permits for the 2026 red snapper season were approved ahead of schedule and indicated plans to sign a follow-up to the Great American Outdoors Act in the near future.