WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, hails President Donald Trump’s “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage” Executive Order for protecting and opening access for America’s original conservationists – sportsmen and women who hunt. The Executive Order includes several NSSF-priority issues, including protecting the use of traditional ammunition, opening public land access and increasing Sunday hunting opportunities on federal and state lands.
President Trump unveiled his Executive Order in a White House Rose Garden celebration, in which NSSF’s President and CEO Joe Bartozzi was in attendance. NSSF worked closely with The White House and the Department of the Interior to craft policy to benefit American outdoorsmen and women.
“Today’s Executive Order by President Trump demonstrates that this administration stands with America’s sportsmen and women. This is a tremendous victory to ensure that America’s hunting heritage is protected for today’s hunters and the coming generations of outdoorsmen and women,” Bartozzi said. “NSSF has long championed several of these key policy issues, including protecting the right to use traditional ammunition, accessing public lands and increasing opportunities for Sunday hunting. We are proud to have led this fight and prouder still that the Trump administration is embracing commonsense policies to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports across America.”
The White House “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage” Executive Order protects the use of traditional ammunition and fishing tackle, an NSSF priority issue to ensure today’s hunters are able to cleanly and efficiently harvest wild game. NSSF supports the use of traditional ammunition and opposes bans on or restrictions of this ammunition that lacks sound and peer-reviewed science that conclusively establishes adverse wildlife population impacts. Anti-hunting groups have distorted data to push an agenda to require alternative ammunition usage, which is several times more expensive, potentially pricing hunters out of the ability to afford to hunt and pass along their hunting heritage to the next generation of conservationists.
In fact, the 10 and 11 percent Pittman-Robertson excise tax, paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers, is the primary source of wildlife conservation funding in America. To date, more than $29 billion has been invested in wildlife conservation by firearm and ammunition manufacturers since 1937, when adjusted for inflation. NSSF announced earlier this year that over $804 million of the $1.3 billion apportioned to the states in February 2026 for wildlife conservation efforts were directly sourced to excise taxes paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers.
The White House Executive Order also includes provisions to expand hunting opportunities across America, a key NSSF priority. That includes an “open until closed” provision, that assumes public lands are open and accessible to hunting unless a specific reason is cited requiring that they must remain closed. The Order also opens inaccessible public land through cooperative agreements with private property landowners. The Executive Order prioritizes public access and conservation goals over anti-hunting and preservationist special interests. The Trump administration is empowering conservationists who are most invested in the perpetuation of wildlife and public access to public lands.
The Executive Order also encourages state fish and wildlife agencies to expand Sunday hunting opportunities on federal and state lands where restrictions remain. NSSF has led the effort to roll back antiquated Sunday hunting restrictions that create artificial barriers to hunting participation and mentoring a rising generation of conservation-minded hunters.
Other measures in The White House Executive Order include opening hunting opportunities in designated monuments and a qualified volunteer effort to empower sportsmen and women to manage overabundant and invasive species.
About NSSF
NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.
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SOURCE NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION
