Congress Mobilizes to Pass Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act

This hunting news website has more good news to report, this time in the form of House bill H.R. 566 and Senate bill S. 537—the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act. As shared by the NRA Institute for Legislative Action today, the NRA-backed legislation, now moving forward in both the House and Senate, aims to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture from arbitrarily banning the use of traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands and waters made available for hunting and fishing in the two federal departments’ jurisdictions.

“As a lifelong hunter and recreational fisherman, I was appalled by the Biden-Harris administration’s quest to restrict access for our nation’s sportsmen and women who use traditional lead fishing tackle and ammunition on federal lands and waters,” said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA-01), who also introduced and helped to pass the House legislation in 2024. Aiming to prevent such a ban in the future, he underscored, “Effective environmental stewardship and wildlife conservation rely on the valuable contributions of our hunters and anglers, and affordable lead ammunition and tackle are crucial to reducing financial barriers that limit accessibility for sportsmen and women.”

Introducing the Senate’s version of the bill on Feb. 12, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) explained, “The great outdoors is a staple of our Montana way of life. Montana hunters and anglers play an important role in wildlife management, and a ban on lead ammo and tackle would be unfair to our sportsmen,” pledging to continue fighting with colleagues to ensure that decisions impacting outdoor recreation are “guided by common-sense science—not anti-hunting groups.” The bill has drawn wide support with 27 Senators signing onto it as original co-sponsors.

The House and Senate legislation was drafted in response to the Biden administration’s repeated attempts to limit Americans’ access to hunt and shoot on our federal lands. While Biden’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a continuation of policies initiated under the Trump administration to expand opportunities on national wildlife refuges as shared by this NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum website, the expansion came with a catch in the form of phasing out the use of traditional lead ammunition.

As NRA members, hunters and shooters are aware, NRA-ILA has been involved in the fight to ban the use of traditional lead ammunition for decades. A ban not only would make hunting more difficult and more expensive for those who want to access these public lands, but those striving to ban lead ammunition on the grounds that it harms wildlife are doing so despite a lack of scientific data to back up their claims.

Please check with this NRA website and NRAILA.org for updates as the legislation moves through Congress.