Recent Rules Articles

How an obscure Farm Bill amendment nearly ended hunting with dogs in America — and the fight to stop it It happened at the worst possible moment. The House Committee on Agriculture had been grinding through markup sessions for over eight hours. Members were worn out, the room had that stale, end-o

For decades, American commercial fishermen have played by the rules — obtaining permits, following catch limits, reporting their hauls honestly, and watching foreign operators do none of the above while undercutting them at every turn. That frustration reached a turning point recently when the Stat

What's at Stake in Socorro on May 28 The New Mexico State Game Commission is holding a meeting that every serious hunter in the state needs to know about. On Thursday, May 28, commissioners will gather in Socorro to vote on major updates to hunting regulations covering pronghorn, turkey, bighorn s

The Lone Star State Has Never Counted Its Cougars — That Might Be About to Change Texas has always done things its own way, and its approach to mountain lions is no exception. While every other Western state with a mountain lion population has some kind of management plan in place, Texas has been

Two conservation groups are suing to unlock nearly a million acres of public land that hunters can't legally reach In mid-May 2025, a lawsuit quietly filed in Lewis and Clark County District Court set off what could become one of the most consequential public land access battles in Montana history

For more than two decades, a federal policy called the Roadless Rule has quietly done some heavy lifting for America's public lands. Enacted in 2001, it has kept 58 million acres across 39 states free from new road construction — protecting some of the last truly wild corners of the national forest

The One Buck Rule Is Coming — And Not Everyone Is Happy About It After a meeting that stretched nearly nine and a half hours, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission made two decisions that are going to reshape deer hunting in the lower peninsula for years to come. When the dust settled, commiss

Oregon is edging closer to a ballot vote that could fundamentally reshape how residents interact with animals — banning everything from deer hunting and salmon fishing to cattle slaughter and dairy farming. The initiative, known as IP28 or the PEACE Act, has collected roughly 112,000 signatures, pu

A sweeping new bill is sitting on the governor's desk — and it could rewrite the rules for hunters across the First State Delaware hunters may be on the verge of one of the biggest wins the state's outdoor community has seen in years. A bill that would dramatically expand Sunday hunting, update

For decades, hunters heading out to federal land have had to navigate a patchwork of rules that seemed to change depending on which park unit they stepped into. Some of those rules made sense. Others were head-scratchers — restrictions layered on top of state law, added by local park officials with