111 new federal hunting grounds are now final

What was finalized

FWS published the final rule in the Federal Register on September 1, 2026 (91 FR 56290, Docket FWS-HQ-NWRS-2026-1223). It opens or expands public hunting and fishing access at 111 field stations: 107 National Wildlife Refuges and 4 National Fish Hatcheries. FWS says the rule opens or expands more than 1,450 hunting and fishing opportunities. In the station table, 16 stations are marked as brand-new openings.

Every one of the 111 stations in the May proposal made it into the final rule. None were withdrawn and none were added.

The changes are categorized by the federal classification system: migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting, and sport fishing. Within each category, a station can be marked as a brand-new opening, an expansion of existing access (more land, longer season, more species), or no change. Which specific species are huntable at any given station depends on state regulations.

What changed from the proposal

FWS received 19,679 comments before the comment period closed on June 26, 2026; it says about 91 percent were form letters or duplicates. The station list did not change, but the details at some stations did:

• Malheur NWR (Oregon): jackrabbit hunting was proposed but not opened. The existing cottontail hunt remains.
• Shiawassee NWR (Michigan): bear was removed from the huntable species. FWS said including it in the proposal was an error.
• Minnesota Valley NWR: badgers and unprotected wild animals were added as huntable species, to match state regulations.
• Umatilla NWR: hunting for Eurasian collared dove was added.
• Kootenai NWR and J. Clark Salyer NWR: the nontoxic shot requirement was removed.
• Canaan Valley NWR (West Virginia): the lead-free ammunition requirement at the Big Cove Unit was removed.

Station pages note any change from the proposal. A separate correction published September 25, 2026 renumbered paragraphs in the hatchery regulations and changed no hunting opportunity.

Why this matters

National Wildlife Refuges already host millions of hunter-days per year, but most refuges are closed to hunting by default. Each opening or expansion takes years of public process. A rule that touches 111 stations at once meaningfully widens the public-land footprint for American hunters.

For deer, waterfowl, and upland hunters, the bigger picture is access. Refuges are typically state-adjacent or state-embedded public lands, often with stronger habitat than surrounding agricultural land. A new opening at a 50,000-acre refuge can change a hunter's entire season.

How to find what changed near you

We built a tool that shows every station in the rule, filterable by state, with direct links to the official station regulations:

Before you hunt a newly opened refuge

A final rule sets what a refuge may allow; it does not set your season. Dates, bag limits, and licenses still come from your state, and each refuge publishes its own hunt plan with open units, permit requirements, and method restrictions. Check both the state regulations and the refuge's page on fws.gov before you go.

Timeline

• May 27, 2026: proposed rule published (91 FR 31580).
• June 26, 2026: public comment period closed.
• August 31, 2026: final rule took effect, on filing.
• September 1, 2026: final rule published (91 FR 56290).
• September 25, 2026: technical correction published (91 FR 60900).

FWS runs this rulemaking every year. Expect the 2027-2028 proposal in the spring or summer.