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

Document 2025-16440 is a Final Rule published by the Department of Interior in the Federal Register on August 28, 2025, with an effective date of August 27, 2025. 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. View the original at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/28/2025-16440/national-wildlife-refuge-system-2025-2026-station-specific-hunting-and-sport-fishing-regulations.

No. Document 2025-16440 is not classified as economically significant under Executive Order 12866. Economically significant rules require OIRA review and are estimated to have impacts of $100 million or more per year.