The Trump administration has hit the brakes on its plan to roll back a Fish and Wildlife Service wetland conservation policy following pushback from prominent Republicans and tens of thousands of duck hunters.
The agency will not move forward with changes to a rule governing conservation easements in the Upper Midwest — at least for now. The Aug. 14 announcement came days after over a dozen congressional Republicans, alongside conservation groups and hunters, urged the agency to retain the current policy, set during the Biden administration.
“Our administration is dedicated to protecting both the wetland easements purchased by the FWS that are necessary to protect our conservation heritage as well as the private landowners’ use of their lands outside the easement boundaries,” the agency said in a post on X. “At this time, no further action is planned as we review the information received.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond to questions Tuesday about whether it might propose changes after reviewing the more than 200,000 comments it received in recent weeks. But some Republicans who support the policy have already declared victory.
“Thank you to [Interior] Secretary [Doug] Burgum for listening to our concerns—and those of countless Arkansans who value conservation,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), one of more than a dozen House and Senate Republicans who rushed to the defense of the 2024 rule, said in a post on X.
But not everyone welcomed the news. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who has long been critical of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s administration of the easement program, said he was “stunned” and “furious” by the agency’s reversal.
He accused the Trump administration of caving to pressure from recreational hunters and “environmental extremists” at Ducks Unlimited, a conservation group that mobilized its members in defense of the 2024 rule. Cramer also vowed to vote against future Interior Department nominees in response to the agency’s decision.
“My farmers are furious and so am I. There won’t be another nominee confirmed until something changes,” Cramer said in a statement to POLITICO. “I have yet to hear from anyone at the Department of Interior.”
Since the 1970s, the Fish and Wildlife Service has purchased hundreds of thousands of acres of easements in the Midwest to conserve the region’s Prairie Pothole wetlands. The unique wetlands provide critical habitat for more than a dozen species of migratory waterfowl.
Funded largely by proceeds from duck hunting permits, the wetland protection program is supported by many Republicans, although lawmakers from North Dakota have long viewed the policy as a burden to landowners with old easements on their properties.
In 2024, the Biden administration finalized a rule clarifying how it calculates setbacks on lands under easement to ensure that farming practices — specifically, draining of soil — do not alter protected wetlands. Some North Dakotan landowners and lawmakers say that has unlawfully put more farmland out of production without providing adequate compensation.
Recognizing those concerns, the Fish and Wildlife Service requested feedback on the issue last month, in an initial step toward potential changes to reduce farming restrictions for landowners.
Hunters swiftly pushed back due to the potential implications for duck habitat, and the Fish and Wildlife Service took note.
In its statement, the agency thanked the “more than 200,000 commenters who responded to the request for information.”
