President Donald Trump’s administration is quietly pushing to dramatically scale back hunting restrictions across national parks, refuges, and wilderness areas, raising questions about visitor safety and wildlife impact. This initiative follows a January order from U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, directing agencies to remove what he termed “unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers” to hunting and fishing, and to justify any regulations they wish to maintain. Burgum stated, “Expanding opportunities for the public to hunt and fish on Department-managed lands not only strengthens conservation outcomes, but also supports rural economies, public health, and access to America’s outdoor spaces.” He added, “The Department’s policy is clear: public and federally managed lands should be open to hunting and fishing unless a specific, documented, and legally supported exception applies.”
I wasn’t suggesting shooting them in self defense, but in defense of the wildlife in the park. I’d say that in addition to the trophy hunters there’s no shortage of yahoos that would jump at the chance to hunt in a place like Yellowstone because of the ease. The wildlife there is not tame but it is habituated to human presence, they do not behave like animals in areas where hunting has been allowed for years. It’s be like shooting fish in a barrel for the first couple of seasons until they remembered they needed to scatter. And then the magic that is Yellowstone is gone. The landscapes remain beautiful but there’s no wildlife to be seen existing in it, they fled when they heard your approach.