If you have ever bought a box of shells, a new bow or a fishing reel, congratulations. You are one of the biggest backers of wildlife conservation in America, whether you knew it or not.
Saturday, September 26, was National Hunting and Fishing Day. It arrived just days after President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at opening more land and water to sportsmen. Here is a look at who really pays for America’s wildlife, and what the new orders mean for your next trip afield.
The money behind the wildlife
Back in February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced more than $1.2 billion for state fish and wildlife agencies for fiscal year 2026.
That money does not come from general tax revenue. It comes from federal excise taxes that manufacturers pay on firearms, ammunition, archery gear and fishing equipment, along with certain fuel and small-engine taxes. In other words, it rides along with the gear that hunters, shooters and anglers buy.
Since the program began in 1937, it has distributed more than $31 billion to the states, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. State agencies have added more than $10 billion of their own.
What those dollars actually do
According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the money helps:
- Monitor and manage more than 800 species of wild mammals and birds
- Stock more than 1 billion fish every year
- Run and maintain more than 800 target ranges
- Support more than 9,000 fishing access areas
- Keep more than 36 million acres of state land open to hunting and fishing
- Pay for hunter education and aquatic education for millions of students
“State wildlife agencies are critical partners who are on the front lines of wildlife management and conservation,” said Service Director Brian Nesvik.
That is a remarkable system. The people who use the resource pay to keep it healthy, and the money goes back to the states that manage it on the ground.
The new hunting order
On September 17, President Trump signed an order titled “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage.” According to the White House fact sheet and a summary from the Sportsmen’s Alliance, it directs federal agencies to:
- Open more federal land to hunting, including designated national monuments, where it can be done without harming historic and scientific resources
- Encourage states to end Sunday hunting bans and expand Sunday hunting on state and federal lands
- Allow traditional lead ammunition and tackle
- Unlock landlocked public parcels through voluntary easements and agreements with landowners
- Streamline the rules for setting migratory bird hunting seasons
- Allow assistive technology on access trails for hunters with disabilities
- Support wild game donations to schools and food banks
- Grow hunting among young people and veterans using existing federal funds
- Reform river access lotteries run by the Forest Service, giving priority to U.S. citizens and past unsuccessful applicants, and banning automated computer entries
The order opens by recognizing that “hunters, anglers, and landowners are the greatest conservationists.”
Good news for saltwater anglers, too
A second order signed the same day, “Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation,” makes recreational fishing an important consideration in federal ocean and coastal decisions, according to the Sportsmen’s Alliance.
It calls for better data collection with the states, more attention to the decline of Atlantic striped bass, faster creation of artificial reefs and marine habitat, and a task force on how sharks, seals and sea lions are affecting fish populations.
Why it matters for self-reliant families
For a lot of families, hunting and fishing are not just hobbies. A deer in the freezer or a cooler of fish can feed a household for a good while. The skills involved, from reading a landscape to field-dressing game, are exactly the kind of know-how that makes people more self-sufficient.
More access to public land means less driving, less crowding and more chances to fill a tag close to home. Sunday hunting matters a great deal to working people who only get one or two days off a week.
And the game donation piece is worth a special mention. Programs that move surplus venison and other wild game to food banks put high-quality protein on the tables of people who need it most.
What to do next
If you hunt or fish, check with your state wildlife agency this fall. Federal orders take time to turn into new rules, and states set their own seasons and Sunday hunting laws. Ask what new access may be coming, and whether your area has a game donation program.
And the next time you pay for a license or a box of ammo, remember where part of that money goes: back into the fields, forests and streams you love.
Sources
- Service Provides Over $1.2 Billion to Support Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Outdoor Access (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Reinvigorates America’s Hunting Heritage (White House)
- Trump Directives Expand Hunting and Fishing Across America (Sportsmen’s Alliance)
- Presidential Message on National Hunting and Fishing Day (White House)