Boone and Crockett Club Backs White House Executive Order on Hunting Access and Conservation

# What happened

Order titled "Reinvigorating America's Hunting Heritage," announced at a White House Rose Garden dinner with hunting and fishing conservation leaders. Club President Mary Webster, CEO Tony Schoonen, and other members participated in the event where the Order was presented.

# What the Executive Order covers

The Order focuses on four primary areas:

• Expanding hunting access to federal public lands.
• Growing the next generation of hunters.
• Promoting robust population recovery for game species.
• Increasing opportunities for donating wild game.

Those four priorities set a federal direction for agencies that manage public land and wildlife, with an emphasis on state‑federal coordination and on-the-ground access improvements.

# Boone and Crockett Club response

Order and signaled readiness to work with mobilized federal agencies. Tony Schoonen offered a supporting statement: "As fall hunting seasons begin across the country, the Boone and Crockett Club appreciates the administration's timely attention to the important issues facing wildlife today. We look forward to working with the now mobilized agencies to address today's challenges with quail, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and other species not yet fully recovered."

Hill during the same period advocating for related conservation legislation. Members pressed for finalizing the America the Beautiful Act and for reauthorization of the Legacy Restoration Fund, both listed as top policy priorities for the organization.

# Why this matters to hunters and land managers

The Order creates a federal policy framework that favors increased public access and cooperative agreements with state wildlife agencies. That can affect on-the-ground access infrastructure, hunting opportunities for youth and veterans, and the way habitat or species recovery projects are prioritized. For organizations and state agencies, the Order provides a pathway to request or coordinate changes to access and management on federally managed lands.

# Boone and Crockett Club background

Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887 and headquartered in Missoula, Montana, the Club has a long record of conservation work and policy influence. Its historical achievements include supporting the creation and enlargement of national parks, contributing to the formation of the U.S. Forest Service and the National Wildlife Refuge System, and helping establish cornerstone game laws and funding mechanisms such as the Federal Duck Stamp program.

# What to watch next

• Coordination steps between federal agencies and state fish and wildlife agencies, including agreements that affect hunting seasons, access routes, and habitat projects.
• Legislative movement on the America the Beautiful Act and the Legacy Restoration Fund, which the Boone and Crockett Club is advocating to reauthorize.

# Bottom line

Order aimed at expanding public‑land hunting access, recruiting hunters, bolstering game species recovery, and growing wild game donation. The Club intends to engage with federal agencies and lawmakers to shape implementation and related conservation funding decisions.