White House Hosts Hunters as Trump Signs Orders Expanding Access ✍️

ven•a•tic: fond of or living by hunting

NORTH AMERICA’S MOST-READ OUTDOOR NEWSLETTER

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

ON THE SURFACE, THESE LOOK GOOD
WHITE HOUSE HOSTS HUNTERS AS TRUMP SIGNS ORDERS EXPANDING ACCESS

President Trump hosted more than 100 hunters, anglers and outdoor-industry officials in the Rose Garden on Thursday night after signing a pair of executive orders aimed at expanding federal hunting and fishing access. The evening’s guest list was a familiar one that included top brass from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Bass Pro Shops, Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International, the NRA, Beretta, Polaris and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation among others. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was also in attendance as the president spoke briefly, displayed the signed orders and moved on.

For the moment, the orders — Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage and Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation — do not rewrite the Magnuson-Stevens Act or open national parks to hunting. They simply direct Cabinet agencies to propose rule and policy changes, on deadlines “consistent with applicable law.” That caveat will decide how much of Thursday night survives contact with the Federal Register…

Florida man jailed in alleged illegal turkey hunting case: Christopher Stone, of Royal Palm Beach, was jailed on felony charges of armed trespassing and trespassing firing a projectile across private land after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials reported encountering him in the DuPuis Wildlife and Environmental Management Area, an arrest report states. Read the full story.

New Farm Bill Advances in Senate Committee: Key Impacts for Hunters & Anglers: This week, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee advanced the Agricultural Act of 2026 on a party line vote – bringing us closer to a comprehensive ag policy update than we have been since 2018.   A lot has happened in agricultural conservation policy since then. Read the full story.

Kent County ‘deer sheriff’ clears more than 50,000 carcasses: Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear latex gloves, high visibility gear and drive a county truck. Andy Albertson has been working for the Kent County Road Commission for more than two decades, earning the title the “deer sheriff.” His job is to pick up road kill, specifically deer carcasses along the nearly 2,000 miles of Kent County roadways. Albertson recently hit a major milestone: 50,000 deer picked up. Read the full story.

Grizzlies Killing Livestock Cost Wyoming Nearly $1M, Blows Budget Out Of Water: In fiscal year 2025, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department paid $958,484 to compensate ranchers for livestock killed or maimed by grizzlies. The department’s wildlife-damage fund: $500,000. Read the full story.

'Highly Promising' Idaho Fish and Game provides an outlook for hunting season: "I think it will be a relatively good season," said Rick Ward a wildlife manager with Idaho Fish and Game. "We had a mild winter this last winter, which is really the third mild winter in a row meaning high survival for deer and elk and especially for fawns and calves. That's a really good indicator for what the season will bring.”  Read the full story.

Two B.C. residents fined for unlawful mule deer shooting near Quesnel: According to a social media post by BC Conservation Officer Service, Michael Loring and Levi Cahoose unlawfully shot a rifle at a mule deer buck in the West Fraser Road single projectile hunting closure and subsequently loaded it into a truck. Read the full story.

Authorities investigating unlawful shooting, waste of mule deer buck in Malheur County: Oregon State Police are investigating the unlawful shooting and waste of a mule deer buck near Nyssa in Malheur County and are asking for the public's help in identifying whoever is responsible. Read the full story.

🐊 Sometimes you get away without paying the gator tax. This gator was in hot pursuit, but this fella’s quick thinking let that little snook live another day.

Is it just me or are these gators getting lazy?

The pull of the weekend.

📸 by @portra_papi

 Oh, and one more thing…