This bill prevents federal agencies that manage public lands and waters—including the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Forest Service—from banning or restricting the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on those lands. In other words, hunters and anglers would be allowed to use lead bullets and lead-based fishing equipment on federal property without facing new restrictions. The bill does include a narrow exception: if scientists gather field data showing that lead ammunition or tackle is directly causing a specific wildlife population to decline at a particular location, and the state government agrees, then the federal agencies could regulate lead use in that specific area. However, any existing regulations that were already in place before this bill would remain in effect. This legislation essentially locks in current rules and prevents federal agencies from expanding lead restrictions in the future, even if they believe it would protect wildlife or the environment.

Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act

Wittman, Robert J.

Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025This bill bars the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the&nbsp;Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Forest Service from prohibiting or regulating the use of lead ammunition or tackle on federal land or water. The bill makes exceptions for specified existing regulations and where the FWS, the BLM, or the Forest Service&nbsp;determines that a decline in wildlife population at the specific unit of federal land or water is primarily caused by the use of lead in ammunition or tackle, based on the field data from such unit, and the state approves the regulations.