The U.S. Department of the Interior is preparing to issue a new directive that would make hunting and fishing the default use across most Interior-managed public lands unless specific closures are justified. The policy represents a procedural shift in how access decisions are made, placing the burden on land managers to explain why an area should be closed rather than requiring hunters and anglers to seek permission.
The directive, issued as Secretarial Order 3447, would apply broadly across lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation. Some units within the National Park Service that already permit hunting would also fall under the framework. Areas closed to hunting by statute would remain closed. Lands managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs would not be affected.
What the Order Would Change
Under the new framework, federal lands would be considered open to hunting and fishing unless a closure is required by law, public safety concerns, or documented resource protection needs. Closures would need to be explicitly justified and approved through agency leadership, rather than implemented by default at the field level.
This does not create new hunting or fishing rights beyond what federal law already allows. Instead, it changes the administrative posture of land management, shifting from restriction-first to access-first decision-making.
How This Fits Within Existing Law
Federal public lands are already governed by a patchwork of statutes that allow hunting and fishing unless prohibited for specific reasons. The proposed order does not override those laws. It reinforces them by standardizing how agencies interpret and apply closure authority across Interior bureaus.
Historically, access decisions have varied widely between regions and agencies, even where land characteristics are similar. Interior officials say the goal is to create consistency and transparency while keeping legal protections in place.
Recent Access Expansions
The department has already expanded hunting and sport fishing opportunities in recent seasons. For the 2025–2026 cycle, Interior added new hunting and fishing access on tens of thousands of acres within the National Wildlife Refuge System and National Fish Hatchery System. Those changes aligned refuge rules more closely with state wildlife regulations and emphasized recreational use as a core public land value.
Secretarial Order 3447 builds on that approach by applying a consistent access standard across a much larger footprint of federal land.
What Hunters and Anglers Should Expect
In the near term, hunters and anglers are unlikely to see immediate, sweeping changes to where they can recreate. Many federal lands are already open under existing rules. The more meaningful shift is procedural. Closures will require clearer justification, higher-level approval, and better documentation.
Over time, the policy could reduce arbitrary or inconsistent restrictions and make access decisions more predictable across federal landscapes.
Hunting organizations have been singing the praises of the move. “The Boone and Crockett Club appreciates Secretary Burgum’s commitment to hunting and fishing access on Department of the Interior lands through the secretary’s order issued today,” said Boone and Crockett Club chief executive officer Tony A. Schoonen in a statement.
Bottom Line
The Interior’s move does not eliminate conservation safeguards or override statutory closures. It does, however, flip the starting assumption. Hunting and fishing would be treated as a default use of federal lands, not an exception. For public-land hunters especially, that shift matters, even if its effects unfold gradually.
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