Doug Burgum just made a move that could change how millions of Americans hunt. The Interior Secretary signed an order that flips the script on federal land access - instead of keeping areas closed unless there's a reason to open them, the new rule says keep them open unless there's a damn good reason to close them.
The order, officially called Secretarial Order 3447, lays out a straightforward policy: public lands managed by the federal government should be available for hunting and fishing unless there's a specific, documented, and legal reason they can't be. It's a complete reversal of how things have worked for decades.
What This Actually Means
Burgum's order doesn't just apply to one agency. It covers the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. That's essentially every major federal agency that controls land where Americans might want to hunt or fish.
These agencies now have marching orders: find the regulations that don't need to exist and get rid of them. Look for places where hunting and fishing make sense and open them up. The goal is to make federal land policy work more like state land policy, where access tends to be the default rather than the exception.
The Problem This Fixes
Anyone who's tried to hunt on federal land knows the headache. The rules change depending on which agency manages the property. What's allowed on Bureau of Land Management territory might be banned on Fish and Wildlife Service land right next door. You might need one permit for state land and a completely different permit for the federal parcel across the fence. Some areas ban certain firearms or hunting methods that are perfectly legal everywhere else in the state.
The confusion isn't just annoying - it keeps people from using land they own. Federal land belongs to American taxpayers, but the maze of regulations has effectively locked many of them out. Hunters have spent years trying to figure out which rules apply where, often giving up entirely rather than risk breaking a regulation they didn't know existed.
John Commerford, who runs the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, put it bluntly: "For years, hunters and anglers have had to deal with outdated and confusing regulations when choosing to hunt on federal lands."
How The New System Works
The order establishes what Burgum calls an "open-unless-closed" policy. Instead of federal agencies starting from a position of restriction and only allowing activities they specifically approve, they'll start from a position of access and only close areas when there's a legitimate reason.
What counts as a legitimate reason? The order specifies it needs to be documented and legally supported. That means agencies can't just decide they don't like hunting in a particular area. They'll need to show why closing that area serves a legal purpose - protecting endangered species, public safety concerns, conflicts with other land uses, or similar justifications.
The new approach also aims to align federal policies with state, tribal, and territorial wildlife agencies. Right now, federal rules often conflict with state hunting regulations, forcing sportsmen to navigate two completely different sets of requirements. The order directs federal agencies to coordinate with state authorities to eliminate these conflicts wherever possible.
This includes getting rid of duplicate permit requirements. If a state already requires a hunting license and tags for deer, there's no clear reason federal land managers need to add another layer of paperwork on top of that. The order pushes agencies to recognize state permits and eliminate their own unless there's a specific federal concern that justifies the extra requirement.
The same logic applies to methods of take - the tools and techniques hunters can use. Some federal lands have banned hunting methods that are legal under state law, sometimes for no clear reason beyond bureaucratic preference. The order directs agencies to allow the same methods states allow unless there's a documented reason for the restriction.
The Political Context
This order represents a significant shift in how the federal government views its relationship with public land users. Previous administrations have generally expanded restrictions on federal lands, often prioritizing preservation over use. The Trump administration is taking the opposite approach, arguing that public lands should serve the public, including those who want to hunt and fish.
The NRA's lobbying arm praised the move as evidence of "a true commitment to sportsmen and women by the Trump administration." The organization has been pushing for expanded hunting access on federal lands for years, and Burgum's order delivers much of what they've been asking for.
But the order isn't just about making hunters happy. It's part of a broader philosophy about federal land management. The Trump administration has consistently argued that federal agencies have accumulated too much power to restrict how Americans use land that belongs to all of them. This order chips away at that power by changing the default setting from closed to open.
What Happens Next
Signing the order is just the first step. Federal agencies now need to actually implement it, which means reviewing thousands of regulations and policies to identify which ones create unnecessary barriers. That process will take time, and it won't happen uniformly across all agencies or all properties.
The NRA says it will work with the Interior Department to identify specific areas where access can be expanded and specific regulations that should be eliminated. Other hunting and fishing organizations will likely do the same, providing agencies with detailed lists of problems they want fixed.
State wildlife agencies will also play a role. Since the order emphasizes coordination with state authorities, federal land managers will need to establish working relationships with their state counterparts to align regulations. In some cases, this might mean federal agencies adopting state rules wholesale. In others, it might mean negotiating compromises that work for both levels of government.
There will almost certainly be legal challenges. Environmental groups have historically opposed expanded hunting access on federal lands, arguing it threatens wildlife populations and disrupts ecosystems. They're likely to argue that Burgum's order violates existing environmental laws or threatens protected species. Those fights will play out in federal courts over the coming months and years.
The Bigger Picture
Beyond the immediate impact on hunters and anglers, this order reflects a fundamental question about public lands: who are they for, and what are they for? Should federal land management prioritize preservation, keeping lands as close to their natural state as possible? Or should it prioritize access, ensuring Americans can use the land they collectively own?
For most of American history, the answer leaned toward access. Public lands were meant to be used - for grazing, logging, mining, recreation, and yes, hunting. But starting in the 1960s and accelerating in recent decades, the balance shifted toward preservation. Federal agencies established more restrictions, closed more areas, and made it harder for ordinary Americans to use federal land.
Burgum's order pushes the pendulum back toward access. It won't satisfy everyone - no policy on public lands ever does. But it represents a clear choice about priorities: the Trump administration believes federal lands should be open to the people who own them unless there's a compelling reason to keep them closed.
For hunters and anglers, that's welcome news. They'll have more places to pursue their activities, fewer regulations to navigate, and hopefully less confusion about what's allowed where. The paperwork should get simpler. The access should get easier. And the federal government will be working with them rather than against them.
Whether this approach is good for wildlife, good for the land, and good for other public land users remains to be seen. But for now, sportsmen have something they haven't had in a long time: an Interior Department that treats access as the rule rather than the exception.
