Feds Overhaul Bureaucracy for Seasonal Bird Hunting Permits
Published Date: 8/31/2026
Rule
Summary
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) is changing the administrative process for authorizing seasonal migratory game bird hunting in the United States. Migratory game bird hunting regulations are currently promulgated annually to provide opportunities for recreation and sustenance; aid Federal, State, and Tribal governments in the management of migratory game birds; and allow harvests at levels compatible with migratory game bird population status and habitat conditions. The Service is adopting a more efficient administrative process for authorizing seasonal migratory game bird hunting. The Service will issue a memorandum to establish the limits and authorize seasonal migratory game bird hunting once every 3 years. The Service will continue to make annual decisions on harvest levels and will update the memorandum sooner than 3 years if changes are prescribed by our decision frameworks. The process eliminates the need for subsequent annual Federal regulation promulgation and rulemaking and is expected to increase efficiency; better meet State, Tribal, and Federal rulemaking constraints; and reduce the complexity and costs. Our goal is to better serve State partners and the hunting public while continuing to meet the legal and conservation purposes of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Tribes are already authorized under a similar process.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
State/Tribal Violations Also Break Federal Law
The Service revises subpart H (Sec. 20.71 and 20.72) so that a violation of Service regulations or of any State or Tribal migratory game bird hunting law or regulation constitutes a violation of Federal law. The rule otherwise retains the existing prohibition that take of migratory game birds is allowed only as provided by Federal, State, and Tribal hunting regulations.
Every-3-Year Memorandum Replaces Annual Rules
The Service will issue a Migratory Game Bird Hunting (MGBH) memorandum to set federal authorization conditions once every 3 years (on or before February 28), instead of publishing annual Federal hunting rulemakings. The Service will still make annual biological decisions and may update the memorandum sooner than 3 years if the decision frameworks prescribe changes; the MGBH notice will include a 30-day public comment period.
States/Tribes Set Seasons Within Federal Limits
States and Tribes will establish their annual migratory game bird hunting regulations within the federal authorization conditions published in the MGBH memorandum and notice. The Service will continue to publish State annual hunting regulations for up to 3 years after this final rule only for the few (less than 6) States that do not have their own regulatory process and request that the Service do so.
Species Authorized Limited to 2024-25 List
The MGBH memorandum will authorize seasonal hunting only for migratory game bird groups or species that were authorized in the 2024-25 hunting season; the Service will not authorize hunting for any species group or specific species not authorized in 2024-25 without initiating a separate rulemaking. The rule notes there are 185 migratory game bird species that may be subject to open seasons and that 93 species had some open season in 2024-25.
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