The Biden administration wanted a 10 mph speed limit for boats along much of the Atlantic coast. On Thursday, President Trump signed the orders that kill it, along with a stack of other rules that kept hunters, boaters and fishermen off land and water they already own.
Trump signed “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage” and “Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation” on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at a White House event with outdoor-industry leaders, before hosting them for dinner in the Rose Garden.
Story Snapshot
- The orders direct Interior, Commerce, Agriculture and the Army Corps of Engineers to eliminate restrictions on hunting, fishing, shooting and boating access on federal lands and waters.
- Gone: the Biden-era 10 mph vessel speed limits, restrictions on charter fishing operators, and limits on saltwater angling access. Charter operators get multi-year permits and longer seasons.
- Interior has already opened 92 million acres of the National Wildlife Refuge System to hunting: 95 percent of refuge acreage, 1,488 new species-and-location opportunities, 14 refuges open for the first time, across 32 states.
- Trump joked at the signing that he could have banned fishing with the power of his office instead.
“Bureaucrats Lock The Gate”
“Public lands belong to the American people, and outdoorsmen should be able to access them instead of watching bureaucrats lock the gate,” the White House said in announcing the orders.
The hunting order tells the Interior Department to streamline seasonal rules for migratory game birds, work with states to expand Sunday hunting, and identify every closed gate, permit maze and access barrier on federal land that is not needed for safety or conservation, then propose fixes.
What Changes On The Water
The saltwater order goes after federal fisheries rules written for commercial fleets and applied to weekend anglers. It directs Commerce to modernize management with current data, ease restrictions that add no conservation value, give charter operators multi-year permits instead of annual paperwork, and extend recreational seasons where stocks allow. The Biden-era proposal to cap vessel speeds at 10 mph over wide stretches of the Atlantic, pitched as whale protection and fought by every boating group in the country, is dead.
Building On August
The orders follow Interior’s August action opening 92 million acres of refuge land to hunting, the largest expansion in the system’s history. Trump said Thursday’s orders would open “millions of acres” more. Agencies now have to write the implementing rules, so the practical changes for the 2027 seasons will come in stages.
Sources:
redstate.com, whitehouse.gov, newser.com
