Trump Administration Moves to Open Two National Monuments to Hunting

November 14, 2026 | By Semahegn Nigatu

The Trump administration has proposed allowing hunting in two US national monuments, setting up a dispute over presidential authority to change the permitted uses of federally protected lands without congressional approval.

The National Park Service (NPS) announced a proposed rule on November 13 to permit hunting in Castle Mountains National Monument in California and Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in September.

The proposal seeks to implement the order directing the Department of the Interior to expand hunting opportunities in the two monuments within 90 days. It would allow hunting of species not protected under the Endangered Species Act, subject to restrictions intended to protect wildlife, visitors and the monuments' designated resources.

The proposal has drawn opposition from the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), which argues that the administration lacks the authority to introduce hunting in the monuments through executive action and administrative regulations.

The conservation organisation maintains that changes to the permitted uses of the protected areas require congressional approval. It argues that the Antiquities Act of 1906, which authorises presidents to designate national monuments, does not give the executive branch unrestricted authority to subsequently alter the protections established through those designations.

"The issue isn't about hunting; it's about protecting our nation's most special places," said Bart Melton, NPCA's senior wildlife programme director.

The organisation said neither the original proclamation establishing Craters of the Moon in 1924 nor the 2016 proclamation establishing Castle Mountains authorised hunting.

The Interior Department, however, says the proposed regulations would expand recreational access while maintaining protections for the monuments' natural and historic resources. The department said the rules were developed in coordination with wildlife agencies in California and Idaho.

Under the proposed arrangements, hunting would be prohibited within 200 yards of wildlife watering points in Castle Mountains to protect species including bighorn sheep, mule deer and desert tortoises. In Craters of the Moon, hunters would be restricted to short-range weapons, excluding modern centre-fire rifles, while the monument's northern section would be closed to hunting.

The proposed changes would expand hunting into the original Craters of the Moon National Monument, where it is currently prohibited. Hunting is already permitted in the adjoining national preserve and certain Bureau of Land Management-administered areas.

The administration's September 17 executive order, titled "Reinvigorating America's Hunting Heritage", directed the Interior Department to allow hunting of species not protected under the Endangered Species Act in the two monuments. The order argues that appropriately managed hunting would not threaten the historic and scientific resources for which the areas were designated.

The NPCA said it supports hunting on appropriate National Park Service lands where Congress has authorised it, but opposes the administration's approach to changing the permitted uses of the two monuments.

The proposed rule opens a public consultation period, with the National Park Service scheduled to accept comments until November 25, 2026. The regulations have not yet been finalised.

Source: FSX Business News