Following passage of the “Great American Outdoors Act,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has expanded access on 2.3 million acres of public land for sportsmen. The National Wildlife Refuge System is an unparalleled network of 568 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts that receives more than 59 million annual visits. National wildlife refuges provide vital habitat for thousands of species and access to world-class recreation, from fishing, hunting and paddling to nature watching, photography and environmental education.
This rule change by the Service increases the number of units in the Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System open to public hunting to 430 and those open to fishing to 360. The rule also formally brings the total number of National Fish Hatchery System units open to hunting or sport fishing to 21.
In Montana, it means increased hunting opportunities on the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge and the Swan River National Wildlife Refuge. In the Metcalf Refuge, turkey hunting will be permitted and white-tailed deer hunting and sport fishing will be expanded. Black bear hunting will also be allowed in the Swan River National Wildlife Refuge.
The approved changes will open hunting opportunities for wild turkey on Metcalf NWR on approximately 40 acres west of the Bitterroot River in accordance with State of Montana seasons and regulations. White-tailed deer hunting would be expanded to include archery hunting on 40 acres west of the Bitterroot River. The use of Deer B License 260-20 (either sex white-tailed deer) would also be allowed on the refuge beginning in September 2020. Sport fishing would be opened on approximately 40 acres west of the Bitterroot River but does not include areas east of the Bitterroot River.
Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge Manager Tom Reed said that the new rules would not bring big changes to the Refuge so much as legitimize some areas of access that have been used but not regulated in the past. For instance, hunters using the state’s turkey hunting blocks on the Ruffatto ranch land will now be able to access the river by crossing refuge land. Other areas which were not regulated on the west side of the river will also now be legally accessible. Reed wanted to emphasize that the areas being opened to turkey hunting on the west do not extend to the east side of the river.
Other changes across the nation include the opening of migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting and sport fishing at Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge in Florida for the first time; the opening of Bamforth National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming to upland game and big game hunting for the first time; and the opening of sport fishing for the first time and the expanding of existing migratory bird, upland game and big game hunting to new acres at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in West Virginia.
Expansions of other refuge opportunities include expanding existing big game hunting onto new acres at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge in Washington State and Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge in Texas; season dates for existing pheasant hunting at San Luis National Wildlife Refuge in California; and expansion of migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting and sport fishing to new acres at Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota.
Changes at hatcheries include the formal opening of lands on Jordan River National Fish Hatchery in Michigan to migratory bird, upland game and big game hunting; the formal opening of lands on Berkshire National Fish Hatchery in Massachusetts to sport fishing; and the formal opening of lands at Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery in Washington State to migratory bird, upland game and big game hunting.