Interior Boosts Public Lands Access with New “Open Unless Closed” Rule 🌄

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the newsletter. If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.

With that said, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey and get this mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about this morning:

REMOVING RED TAPE
INTERIOR DEPT. OPENS MORE PUBLIC LANDS TO HUNTING AND FISHING WITH NEW “OPEN UNLESS CLOSED” POLICY

Making some big moves yesterday, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed Secretarial Order 3447, which effectively handed the keys to over 480 million acres of public land to America’s hunters and anglers. The order establishes an "open unless closed" policy for hunting and fishing on most of the department's public dirt, including BLM lands, wildlife refuges and Reclamation reservoirs. This means these activities—when legal and regulated under adjacent state rules—are presumed allowed unless a specific closure is required by law, for public safety reasons, or to protect natural resources.

Aiming to undo unnecessary red tape, the policy applies broadly to lands managed by key agencies including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), where the order reinforces and expands consistency in already open areas; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national wildlife refuges, with a strong emphasis on aligning federal rules with state regulations to avoid confusing boundary differences; Bureau of Reclamation properties, such as dams and reservoirs primarily in the West; and certain National Park Service units where hunting or fishing is already authorized by Congress (e.g., national preserves, recreation areas, seashores, or lakeshores)…

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👮 Two charged in connection to shooting deaths of hunting dogs in Virginia: Two people have been charged in connection to the shooting deaths of two hunting dogs, according to the Appomattox County Sheriff’s Office. Read the full story. 

Chronic Wasting Disease identified in four new hunting districts, FWP says: Four new hunting districts across the state recorded a detection of Chronic Wasting Disease since July 2025, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said Friday. The four districts were in FWP regions 3, 4 and 6.  Read the full story.

Arkansas Hunters crack attendance record at 2026 Big Squirrel Challenge : “We had 419 people show up at the weigh-in stations this year,” Eric Maynard, AGFC education assistant chief, said. “They provided 266 total entries into the contest, 80 entries more than last year.”  Read the full story.

A deer was killed and ‘left to waste’ in a Toronto cemetery — now Ontario officials are looking for answers: Conservation officers from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources are seeking the public’s help after an “antlered, white-tailed deer” was killed and “left to waste” in a Toronto cemetery, the agency said in a release.  Read the full story.

Vermont’s expanded archery deer hunting zones are announced: Vermont’s new deer hunting regulation effective this year includes 16 additional days of archery hunting opportunity to help manage deer in eight targeted areas. Read the full story.

Some Kansas hunters may get to use drones when hunting deer under proposed new law: Representative Kevin Schwertfeger (R) introduced a bill on Jan. 12 at the start of the 2026 Kansas legislative session. House Bill 2423 seeks to allow hunters who are federally licensed drone operators to use drones while seeking out wounded or recently deceased deer. Read the full story.

💪 Do you stand your ground? Watch as this young bear acts brave for a few moments before being run damn near right out of town.

I’d never want to see that fella coming my way…

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