American Sportfishing Association
AdvocacySupport
Lead ammunition restrictions
Public land access
National Wildlife Refuge System: 2026-2027 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations
FWS-HQ-NWRS-2026-1223-0001NPRM
Comments
1,632
Last activity Jul 7, 2026
Deadline
Closed on Jun 27, 2026
Closed Jun 27, 2026
Net supportiSupport minus oppose · campaigns included
+12%
-28% excluding campaigns
Document
Details
The document's own metadata, straight from the source system.
- Title
- National Wildlife Refuge System: 2026-2027 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations
- Posted
- May 27, 2026
- Comment period
- May 27, 2026 – Jun 27, 2026
- FR Doc
- 2026-10465
- CFR
- 50 CFR Parts 32 and 71
Analysis
Overview
What the public is saying — stance, who's commenting, and the issues they raise.
Include campaigns
Stance breakdown
+12%
Net support
Support894Oppose693Other45
Aggregates include form-letter campaigns. Excluding them, net support is -28% across organic comments.
Who commented
Breakdown by commenter type.
Academic
13
Individual
1,562
Government
16
Trade association
2
Advocacy
37
Other
2
Comments over time
Weekly arrivals, stacked by stance.
Posted May 27, 2026Deadline Jun 27, 2026
May 25Jun 1Jun 8Jun 15Jun 22Jun 29Jul 6
Support894Oppose693Other45
Support × commenter type
How each type splits across stance.
Support
Oppose
Other
Individual
55%
42%
2%
Advocacy
38%
51%
11%
Government
81%
13%
6%
Academic
0%
100%
0%
Trade association
50%
50%
0%
Other
0%
0%
100%
Issues raised
The docket's canonical issues. Select one to browse its comments.
Hunting in wildlife refuges704
Support for hunting expansion403
Opposition to hunting expansion385
Public land access312
Wildlife habitat protection291
Waterfowl hunting access285
Wildlife habitat conservation270
Oppose hunting and fishing expansion207
Lead ammunition restrictions111
Prohibition of hunting and fishing104
Position map
Who stands where on each issue?
Every non-silent position is backed by an excerpt from the comment.
Issues shown
Uncheck an issue to choose another.
| Organization | Lead ammunition restrictions | Public land access | Hunting in wildlife refuges | Support for hunting expansion | Oppose hunting and fishing expansion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Sportfishing Association AdvocacySupport The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) supports the proposed 2026–2027 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing R | · | · | · | ||
Animal Wellness Action Animal Wellness Action, Center for a Humane Economy, Footloose Montana, Public Employees for Envi AdvocacyOppose Animal Wellness Action, the Center for a Humane Economy, Footloose Montana, PEER, and The Coalition to Protect America’s | · | · | · | · | |
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies AdvocacySupport The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies supports the proposed expansion of hunting and sport fishing opportunities | · | · | · | ||
Center for Biological Diversity AdvocacySupport The Center for Biological Diversity opposes the proposed rule because it reverses previous decisions to phase out lead a | · | · | · | ||
Coalition to Protect America's National Parks AdvocacyOppose The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks opposes the proposed rescission of lead ammunition and tackle phase-ou | · | · | · | · | |
Colorado Parks and Wildlife GovernmentSupport Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) supports the proposed expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities on several Nation | · | · | · | · | · |
Defenders of Wildlife AdvocacyOppose Defenders of Wildlife opposes the proposed expansion of hunting and fishing access, arguing that the National Wildlife R | · | · | · | ||
Delta Waterfowl Foundation AdvocacySupport Delta Waterfowl, a conservation organization representing duck hunters, expresses strong support for the proposed 2026-2 | · | · | · | ||
Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Wildlife Resources Division GovernmentSupport The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division supports the proposed rule to expand hunting an | · | · | · | · | |
Humane World for Animals; Humane World Action Fund AdvocacyOppose Humane World for Animals and Humane World Action Fund opposes the proposed expansion of hunting opportunities on the Nat | · | · | · | ||
Indiana Division of Fish, Wildlife & Nature Preserves (IDNR) GovernmentSupport The Indiana Division of Fish, Wildlife & Nature Preserves supports the proposed rule and advocates for aligning National | · | · | |||
International Crane Foundation AdvocacyOppose The International Crane Foundation opposes the proposed rescission of non-lead ammunition and tackle requirements at nin | · | · | · | · | |
Maryland Ornithological Society AdvocacyOppose The Maryland Ornithological Society opposes the proposed rescinding of the ban on lead ammunition and fishing tackle in | · | · | · | · | |
Missouri Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers AdvocacySupport The Missouri Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers expresses strong support for the proposed hunting and fishing re | · | · | · | · | |
Northeast Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Inc. GovernmentSupport The Northeast Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Inc. | · | · | · | · | |
Safari Club International AdvocacySupport Safari Club International (SCI) expresses strong support for the proposed rule to expand and open new hunting and fishin | · | · | · | · | |
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks GovernmentSupport The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks supports opening the Karl E. | · | · | · | ||
Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies AdvocacySupport The Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) supports the proposed expansion of hunting and fishing | · | · | · | · | |
State of Utah, Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office GovernmentSupport The State of Utah, through its Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, strongly supports the proposed rule to expand hu | · | · | |||
The Rewilding Institute AdvocacyOppose The Rewilding Institute opposes the proposed expansion of hunting and fishing on National Wildlife Refuges, arguing that | · | · | · | · | |
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources GovernmentSupport The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) supports the proposed hunting and fishing plans, specifically praisi | · | · | · | ||
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Trade associationSupport The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) supports the proposed rule, praising the expansion of hunt | · | · | · | ||
Yankton Sioux Tribe GovernmentSupport The Yankton Sioux Tribe (Ihanktonwan Nation) expresses support for the proposed expansion of archery-only deer hunting a | · | · | · | · |
Animal Wellness Action Animal Wellness Action, Center for a Humane Economy, Footloose Montana, Public Employees for Envi
AdvocacyOppose
Lead ammunition restrictions
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
AdvocacySupport
Lead ammunition restrictions
Support for hunting expansion
Center for Biological Diversity
AdvocacySupport
Lead ammunition restrictions
Hunting in wildlife refuges
Coalition to Protect America's National Parks
AdvocacyOppose
Lead ammunition restrictions
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
GovernmentSupport
Defenders of Wildlife
AdvocacyOppose
Hunting in wildlife refuges
Oppose hunting and fishing expansion
Delta Waterfowl Foundation
AdvocacySupport
Public land access
Support for hunting expansion
Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Wildlife Resources Division
GovernmentSupport
Public land access
Humane World for Animals; Humane World Action Fund
AdvocacyOppose
Hunting in wildlife refuges
Oppose hunting and fishing expansion
Indiana Division of Fish, Wildlife & Nature Preserves (IDNR)
GovernmentSupport
Public land access
Hunting in wildlife refuges
Support for hunting expansion
International Crane Foundation
AdvocacyOppose
Lead ammunition restrictions
Maryland Ornithological Society
AdvocacyOppose
Lead ammunition restrictions
Missouri Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
AdvocacySupport
Public land access
Northeast Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Inc.
GovernmentSupport
Support for hunting expansion
Safari Club International
AdvocacySupport
Lead ammunition restrictions
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
GovernmentSupport
Hunting in wildlife refuges
Support for hunting expansion
Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
AdvocacySupport
Public land access
State of Utah, Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office
GovernmentSupport
Public land access
Hunting in wildlife refuges
Support for hunting expansion
The Rewilding Institute
AdvocacyOppose
Oppose hunting and fishing expansion
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
GovernmentSupport
Lead ammunition restrictions
Public land access
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Trade associationSupport
Public land access
Support for hunting expansion
Yankton Sioux Tribe
GovernmentSupport
Hunting in wildlife refuges
2 organization-typed comments could not be identified.
Form letters
Campaigns
Organized form-letter drives, separated from organic one-off comments.
31%of comments arrived through 2 form-letter campaigns — 513 of 1,632 comments. 1,031 are organic, and 88 are still being processed for campaign detection.
Campaign513Organic1,031Not yet determined88
Comments
Explorer
Every mirrored comment — filter by stance, campaign, or issue.
Filter:
- Jun 26, 2026Oregon Natural Desert AssociationSupportAdvocacy📎 Attachment
The Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) supports the proposed hunting and angling regulations for Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, provided that bighorn sheep hunting is coordinated with the state and predator control programs are phased out. They also advocate for managing angling to support fish recovery and protecting sensitive trout species in riparian habitats damaged by recent wildfires and weather events.
Read comment → - Jun 17, 2026Wildlife for AllOpposeAdvocacy
The Executive Director of Wildlife for All, a PhD conservation scientist, opposes the rescission of lead ammunition and tackle restrictions at National Wildlife Refuges. They argue that lead remains a significant toxicity threat to scavenging birds and aquatic wildlife, and that non-lead alternatives are practical and effective for conservation.
Read comment → - Jun 26, 2026Anonymous AnonymousOpposeIndividualRead comment →
- Jun 26, 2026Page RemmersSupportIndividualRead comment →
- Jun 26, 2026Laura ThomOpposeIndividual
A private individual opposes the proposal to open large portions of wild lands to hunting. They argue that such actions threaten endangered species, specifically citing lead poisoning in eagles, and emphasize the need to preserve wilderness for future generations.
Read comment → - Jun 26, 2026Kathleen BohnsackOpposeIndividualRead comment →
- Jun 26, 2026Sandy TaoOpposeIndividualRead comment →
- Jun 26, 2026susannah biggsOpposeIndividualRead comment →
- Jun 26, 2026Heather CammisaOpposeIndividual
The commenter opposes the proposed hunting and sport fishing regulations, arguing that they are an overreaching action that lacks scientific basis or specific species evaluation. They request that the Fish and Wildlife Service use scientific and conservation experts to guide decisions regarding national wildlife refuges.
Read comment → - Jun 26, 2026Anonymous AnonymousOpposeIndividualRead comment →