Dozens of National Park Service (NPS) sites across the country could see hunting restrictions eased after the Interior Department ordered managers in an internal memo to remove what it called unnecessary barriers to hunting and fishing.

The New York Times reported that the April 21 memo from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed managers of public lands to remove several existing restrictions on hunting and trapping, applying to about 76 sites where such activities are already allowed but regulated for safety or conservation.

It comes after a January Interior Department Secretarial Order, which directed its bureaus and offices to “identify and remove unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers to hunting and fishing on Department-managed lands and waters.” The Times first reported on the changes.

“[The order] advances a commonsense approach to public land management by expanding access to hunting and fishing opportunities where it can be done safely and responsibly,” the Department of the Interior told Newsweek. “For decades, sportsmen and women have been some of the strongest stewards of our public lands, and this order ensures their access is not unnecessarily restricted by outdated or overly broad limitations that are not required by law.”

Why It Matters

Conservation groups have raised concerns about visitor safety and wildlife management, while some hunting organizations have welcomed the change.

Responding to the January order, Joel Pedersen, president and CEO for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership—a nonprofit that has advocated for preserving access for hunters and fishers—said: “Hunters and anglers have long been central to conserving wildlife and habitat in this country—funding conservation and supporting science-based management—and these actions help reinforce that legacy.”

Meanwhile, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), which advocates on behalf of the National Parks System, said it was “deeply concerned” by the April memo.

“In national parks, management decisions must start with public safety and natural resource conservation—not with what appears to be a highly questionable directive to remove what someone deems as barriers to hunting and trapping,” NCPA director Stephanie Adams said in a statement.

What To Know

According to the NPS, hunting is permitted in 76 of its units, trapping is allowed in 31 units, and fishing is allowed in waters across 213 units.

The agency says roughly 51 million acres under its management are open to hunting—including 43 million acres in Alaska and 8 million acres in the contiguous U.S. About 47 million acres are open to trapping, with 43 million acres in Alaska and 4 million acres in the rest of the country, amounting to more than 60 percent of NPS-managed lands.

Earlier this year, the Interior Department issued Secretary’s Order 3447, directing DOI bureaus to remove what it described as unnecessary barriers, expand opportunities where compatible with law and conservation or safety needs, coordinate with state, Tribal, and territorial wildlife agencies, and elevate any proposed reductions in access for leadership review.

Some of the changes would include extending the hunting season at Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts; allowing hunters to clean game in bathrooms at Lake Meredith National Recreation Area in Texas; and permitting alligator hunting at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Louisiana, the Associated Press reported.

Other changes include removing some reporting requirements and gear labeling at Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida; lifting a tree-stand ban, opening hunting in the Coldwater Spring Unit, and allowing vegetation clearing for shooting lanes at Mississippi National River & Recreation Area in Minnesota; and removing a rule against firing from or across a trail at Curecanti National Recreation Area in Colorado, according to National Parks Traveler.

The following parks have either already begun reporting changes or could be impacted by the move, according to the outlet Outside:

  1. Amistad National Recreation Area, Texas
  2. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin
  3. Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland and Virginia
  4. Bighorn Canyon National Preserve, Montana and Wyoming
  5. Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Kentucky and Tennessee
  6. Bluestone National Scenic River, West Virginia
  7. Buffalo National River, Arkansas
  8. Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina
  9. Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina
  10. Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Oklahoma
  11. City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho
  12. Craters of the Moon National Preserve, Idaho
  13. Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia
  14. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, New Jersey and Pennsylvania
  15. Fire Island National Seashore, New York
  16. Gateway National Recreation Area, New Jersey and New York
  17. Gauley River National Recreation Area, West Virginia
  18. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona and Utah
  19. Great Egg Harbor Wild and Scenic River, New Jersey
  20. Great Sand Dunes National Preserve, Colorado
  21. Hagermann Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho
  22. John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway, Wyoming
  23. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, Washington
  24. Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona and Nevada
  25. Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Washington
  26. Little River Canyon National Preserve, Alabama
  27. Mojave National Preserve, California
  28. New River Gorge National River, West Virginia
  29. Niobrara Scenic River, Nebraska
  30. Ozark National Scenic Riverway, Missouri
  31. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan
  32. Point Reyes National Seashore, California
  33. Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, Texas
  34. Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Washington
  35. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
  36. St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, Minnesota and Wisconsin
  37. Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas
  38. Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, New York and Pennsylvania
  39. Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico
  40. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, California

It also reported the NPCA had tracked changes at the following additional locations:

  1. Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
  2. Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas
  3. Canaveral National Seashore, Florida
  4. Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts
  5. Curecanti National Recreation Area, Colorado
  6. Gulf Islands National Seashore, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida
  7. Jean Lafitte National Historic Park, Louisiana
  8. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine
  9. Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Texas
  10. Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, Minnesota
  11. Missouri National Recreational River, Nebraska and South Dakota
  12. Obed Wild and Scenic River, West Virginia
  13. Oregon Caves National Preserve, Oregon
  14. Padre Island National Seashore, Texas
  15. Timicuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida