President Trump is welcoming more than 100 hunters, anglers and outdoor-industry leaders to a Rose Garden dinner at the White House on Thursday night, ahead of a planned signing of two executive orders expanding hunting and fishing access and rolling back several Biden-era restrictions, according to Fox News Digital.
The orders would direct the secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, Defense and Commerce to propose changes expanding access to public lands and waterways, promoting healthy wild game populations and opening more of the coast to recreational fishing, a White House official told Fox News Digital. One provision targets Biden-era rules requiring nonlead ammunition for certain hunts at several national wildlife refuges managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The rollback follows a broader push already underway at Interior. The department announced in August its largest-ever expansion of hunting and sport-fishing access, bringing the amount of refuge-system land available for hunting to more than 92 million acres, or over 95% of the system’s total acreage. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is expected to attend Thursday’s dinner, along with representatives from the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Commerce Department and NOAA.
Guest organizations expected at the dinner include Bass Pro Shops, the Cabela Family Foundation, the National Rifle Association, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, among others tied to the hunting, fishing and firearms industries.
A White House official cited the outdoor recreation sector’s economic footprint — more than $1.2 trillion in annual activity and over 5 million jobs — as part of the administration’s rationale for the policy shift.
Separately, the planned fishing order seeks to move charter boat operators toward multi-year permits, replace mail-in catch surveys with mobile reporting, and use eligible offshore oil and gas platforms to create artificial reefs, according to Fox News Digital’s reporting.
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