Data / Federal rules / 2025-16440

National Wildlife Refuge System; 2025-2026 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations

The Fish and Wildlife Service published this final rule in the Federal Register on August 28, 2025. It took effect on August 27, 2025. Comments closed on September 29, 2025.

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What the agency says

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), open or expand hunting or sport fishing opportunities on 16 National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) stations and 1 National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) station. This includes inaugural hunting opportunities at Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), the newest addition to the NWRS, and the formal opening of hunting opportunities at Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (WMA), as well as inaugural sport fishing at North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery (NFH). These actions open or expand 42 opportunities for hunting and fishing across more than 87,000 acres of Service-managed lands and waters. We also make administrative changes to existing station-specific regulations to improve the clarity and accuracy of regulations, reduce the regulatory burden on the public, and comply with a Presidential mandate for plain- language standards.

Key facts

Document number: 2025-16440
Type: Final rule
Action: Final rule
Agency: Interior Department; Fish and Wildlife Service
Published: August 28, 2025
Takes effect: August 27, 2025
Comments due: September 29, 2025
Dates: This rule is effective August 27, 2025.
Docket: Docket No. FWS-HQ-NWRS-2025-0031; FXRS12610900000-256-FF09R20000
Regulation ID (RIN): 1018-BI01
Code of Federal Regulations: 50 CFR 32; 50 CFR 71
Topics: Fish; Fishing; Hunting; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Wildlife; Wildlife refuges
Pages: 22

The document on federalregister.gov PDF

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National Wildlife Refuge System; 2026-2027 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations; Correction 2026-19723	Final rule	Sep 25
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Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Nine Species Not Warranted for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species 2026-18123	Final rule	Sep 4
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Process for Authorizing Seasonal Migratory Game Bird Hunting 2026-17733 · significant	Final rule	Aug 31

Everything from the Fish and Wildlife Service · Rules on fish · Rules on fishing · Rules on hunting · Published in August 2025

Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.