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Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to open or expand hunting or sport fishing opportunities on 16 National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) stations and 1 National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) station. This includes inaugural hunting opportunities at Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), the newest addition to the NWRS, and the formal opening of hunting opportunities at Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (WMA), as well as inaugural sport fishing at North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery (NFH). These actions will open or expand 42 opportunities for hunting and fishing across more than 87,000 acres of Service lands and waters. In addition, at the request of the State of Minnesota and the White Earth Nation, Tamarac NWR proposes to end an experimental 5-day early teal hunt where the refuge overlaps with Tribal land to ensure safety for wild rice harvesting and to align with State regulations. We also propose to make administrative changes to existing station-specific regulations to improve the clarity and accuracy of regulations, reduce the regulatory burden on the public, and comply with a Presidential mandate for plain-language standards.
We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before June 30, 2025.
Information collection requirements: If you wish to comment on the information collection requirements in this proposal, alongside proposed revisions and additions to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), please note that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to make a decision concerning the collection of information contained in this proposal between 30 and 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register . Therefore, comments should be submitted to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (see “ Information collection requirements ” below under ADDRESSES ) by July 15, 2025.
Written comments: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
- Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, type in FWS-HQ-NWRS-2025-0031, which is the docket number for these proposed revisions and additions to the CFR. Then, click on the Search button. On the resulting screen, find the correct document and submit a comment by clicking on “Comment.”
- By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand delivery: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-NWRS-2025-0031, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We will not accept email or faxes. We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any personal information you provide us (see Request for Comments, below, for more information).
Supporting documents: For information on a specific refuge's or hatchery's public use program and the conditions that apply to it, contact the respective regional office at the address or phone number given in Available Information for Specific Stations under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION .
Information collection requirements: Send your comments on the information collection request by mail to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, by email to [email protected]; or by mail to 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), Falls Church, VA 22041-3803. Please reference OMB Control Number 1018-0140 in the subject line of your comments.
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