FWS final rule adds 1,488 hunting and sport-fishing opportunities on refuges

This is not a blanket opener. The Fish and Wildlife Service’s final rule for 2026–27 (91 FR 56290, Sept. 1, 2026) opens or expands hunting and sport fishing at 111 field stations — 107 national wildlife refuges and 4 national fish hatcheries — in 32 states. Interior counts 1,488 species-and-place opportunities, including first-time access at 14 refuges and 3 hatcheries. Each station still has its own species list, season, and map.

The same rule rescinds non-lead ammunition and/or tackle requirements that were scheduled to take effect Sept. 1, 2026, at nine refuges: Patoka River (IN); Great Thicket and Rachel Carson (ME); Blackwater, Eastern Neck, and Patuxent Research (MD); Erie (PA); and Chincoteague and Wallops Island (VA). Those phase-outs were finalized in 2022–23 with a delayed start. They do not start now.

You still need a state license and the station’s current brochure. Read the docket table for the water you fish before you treat a refuge as open.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Federal Register — National Wildlife Refuge System; 2026–2027 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations (Sept. 1, 2026). Also: Interior / FWS press release.