Feds avoid lead ammo showdown in refuge hunting proposals

By Michael Doyle | 05/21/2025 01:36 PM EDT

The Fish and Wildlife Service indicated it could defer to state policies when deciding whether to ban lead ammunition and fishing tackle at federal wildlife refuges.

Two hunters with their guns pointed upward at Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge in Kentucky.

Hunting at the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge in Kentucky. Michael Johnson/Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr

The Fish and Wildlife Service could defer to individual states when deciding whether to extend new lead ammunition bans on national wildlife refuges, under a proposed rules package that is otherwise largely silent about lead ammo and fishing tackle.

In a pledge welcomed by hunters, the federal agency states that it is “committed to continuing to align with state regulations with respect to the use of ammunition and/or fishing tackle in future amendments.”

The promise is included in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed 2025-2026 regulations governing hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries. The annual regulations issued during the Biden administration did not include similar language.

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While the Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond to questions, its stated intention was called a “positive step” by Greg Sheehan, president and CEO of the Mule Deer Foundation. He served as both deputy director and acting director of the FWS in the first Trump administration.

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