Since day one, the Trump administration has prioritized recreational access to public lands, particularly for hunting and fishing. These two great American pastimes have formed the bedrock of the nation’s wildlife conservation efforts, generating more dollars for habitat protection and restoration than any other outdoor pursuit.
The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helped grow that legacy by finalizing a rule to open additional hunting and fishing opportunities in Texas and across the country. This brings the total expansion to over 4 million acres nationally since President Trump took office.
“On the heels of President Trump signing the most significant conservation and recreation funding in U.S. history, providing nearly $20 billion over the next 10 years to fix and conserve the American people’s public lands, the Trump Administration has now made an additional 2.3 million acres accessible to new hunting and fishing opportunities,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt. “We continue to take significant actions to further conservation initiatives and support sportsmen and -women who are America’s true conservationists.”
In Texas, four national wildlife refuges are adding hunting and/or fishing opportunities. The additions include:
• Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge: Expand existing white-tailed deer hunting to new acres.
• Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge: Open dove and quail hunting on acres already open to other hunting, and expand existing pheasant hunting to new acres.
• Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge: Open alligator, feral hog and nilgai hunting on acres already open to other hunting.
• Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge: Open turkey and javelina hunting on new acres and acres already open to hunting, and expand existing migratory bird and big game hunting to new acres.
“We could not be more pleased with the actions being taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand access for hunters and anglers across the National Wildlife Refuge system, including in Texas,” said Carter Smith, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department executive director. “From deer hunting at Balcones Canyonlands in the heart of the Texas hill country to nilgai and feral hog hunting at Laguna Atascosa in deep south Texas, the service is providing meaningful opportunities for more sportsmen and -women to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty and richness of these special places.”