Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025

This bill, titled the "Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025," aims to restrict federal agencies from prohibiting the use of lead ammunition and tackle. Specifically, it prevents the Secretary of the Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Forest Service, from banning lead ammunition or tackle on federal land or water made available for hunting or fishing activities. Furthermore, these agencies are prohibited from issuing regulations concerning the level of lead in ammunition or tackle used on such federal lands. An important exception allows for such prohibitions or regulations to be implemented, but only if they are limited to a specific unit of federal land or water . For this exception to apply, the relevant Secretary must determine that a decline in wildlife population at that specific unit is primarily caused by the use of lead in ammunition or tackle, based on field data from that location. Additionally, any such prohibition or regulation must be consistent with the law or an applicable policy of the State in which the federal land or water is located, or be approved by the State's fish and wildlife department. Should a prohibition or regulation meet these strict criteria, the applicable Secretary is required to include a detailed explanation in a Federal Register notice, outlining how the requirements for the exception have been satisfied. This ensures transparency and justification for any deviation from the general prohibition on banning lead ammunition and tackle.