Trump Admin Facing Lawsuit Over Expansion of Hunting and Fishing Lands

The Trump administration is facing litigation over the expansion of hunting and fishing to 2.3 million acres of protected land.

According to Fox News:

A nonprofit is targeting the Trump administration in a new lawsuit protesting the historic expansion of hunting and fishing across 2.3 million public acres.

On Tuesday, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a notice of intent to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for expanding recreational hunting and fishing access across 147 wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries, a move announced in August.

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The CBD charges that that the agency violated the Endangered Species Act in failing to analyze the harmful impacts of the expansion on endangered wildlife like grizzly bears, ocelots and whooping cranes. The conservation group also blasted the newly permitted use of lead ammunition, which had been banned at the end of the Obama administration but was restored by former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

“For example, endangered whooping cranes rely on numerous refuges in the Midwest, like the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin, where the Fish and Wildlife Service has authorized use of lead ammunition but failed to consider the risk of lead toxicity on the birds,” the CBD explained in a statement. “Endangered species like grizzly bears and ocelots can also be poisoned by scavenging on lead-contaminated carcasses.

While most hunters are the biggest conservationists it appears the people who live in cities think they are best suited to protect our wildlife. See the California wildfires for the sake of protecting an owl.