Presidential Message on National Hunting and Fishing Day

For over 250 years, America’s hunters and anglers have been faithful stewards of our great outdoors—respecting the land, pursuing their sport with honor, and preserving our lands and waters.  On National Hunting and Fishing Day, we pay tribute to the American sportsmen, hunters, and fishermen who protect our abundant resources, cherish our Nation’s natural beauty, and sustain one of the oldest and proudest customs in American life.

Hunting and fishing have fed our families, tamed our frontier, and shaped the character of our people since the very beginning of our national story.  Today, American outdoorsmen are the backbone of conservation, passing their skills and respect for the land from one generation to the next.  They also support a thriving outdoor economy that sustains jobs, strengthens rural communities, and contributes billions of dollars into the wild places they love through every license, tag, and piece of gear they buy. 

My Administration has proudly carried forward this great tradition by giving Americans more access to their public lands than ever before.  During my first term, I signed the Great American Outdoors Act—the single largest investment in America’s national parks and public lands in history and the most significant conservation achievement since Teddy Roosevelt’s Presidency.  I also enacted landmark legislation protecting 1.3 million new acres of wilderness and unlocked more than 2.3 million acres for American sportsmen, and we recovered more endangered and threatened species than any prior administration in a single term.

Just this month, I was proud to sign an Executive Order to reinvigorate America’s hunting heritage, opening new hunting opportunities on federal lands—including places long cut off from sportsmen due to Federal overreach—and expanding Sunday hunting across our Nation.  This order also directs my Cabinet to work alongside the States to promote thriving populations of America’s iconic game species, and it prioritizes incentives that cultivate the hunting tradition in young Americans and veterans like never before.  In addition, I signed an Executive Order to restore American saltwater angling and recreation, slashing burdensome regulations on boaters, anglers, and outdoor businesses; modernizing catch reporting; rebuilding prized stocks like the Atlantic Striped Bass; and turning retired offshore platforms into flourishing artificial reefs. 

My Administration was also proud to reestablish the Hunting and Shooting Conservation and Access Council earlier this year, calling on distinguished sportsmen and conservation leaders from across the country to council the Federal Government on conserving our wildlife and opening more public land to hunting and shooting sports.  Through these historic initiatives, my Administration will continue to cut red tape, expand access for every American sportsman, and strengthen our great outdoor economy—restoring the integrity of our national lands and keeping their splendor intact for generations to come, guaranteeing that these wonders remain the birthright of every American, now and forever.

Today, our Nation proudly celebrates the hunters and fishermen who champion their sport and take to the field and stream—whose heritage is America’s heritage.  Together, we will preserve this cherished tradition, and as long as I am President, the best hunting and fishing will always be found here in the United States of America.