NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, praises U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman’s (R-Va.) introduction of H.R. 556, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act, which would prohibit U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) from banning the use of traditional lead ammunition and tackle absent approval by the applicable state fish and wildlife department and proof that lead ammunition and tackle is primarily causing wildlife population decline.

Conservation policies must rely on peer-reviewed, sound scientific evidence to ensure abundant wildlife populations and public land access is perpetuated for future generations. The policies lack that evidence. They show no causational link of detrimental wildlife population impact link to traditional ammunition. Rather, these policies put an antigun and anti-hunting agenda ahead of science and risk the primary funding source for wildlife conservation in America today.

“This legislation is tremendously important to protect the primary funding for wildlife conservation in America,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Firearm and ammunition manufacturers have paid over $29 billion, when adjusted for inflation, since 1937 and that has been the leading funding source of wildlife and habitat conservation in America. Efforts by bureaucrats to limit or eliminate the use of traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle puts those conservation funds at serious risk by increasing costs and creating barriers to participation in outdoor recreation.”

NSSF denounced the USFWS Final Rule it published in 2023 that offered sportsmen and women a “bait-and-switch” deal to open hunting and fishing opportunities on eight National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs), but banned the use of traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle. The Final Rule offered no scientific evidence of detrimental population impacts to support banning the use of traditional ammunition, despite promises by the Biden administration to “follow the science.”

Firearm and ammunition manufacturers pay a 10 and 11 percent excise tax to the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, commonly referred to as the “Pittman-Robertson excise tax.” The firearm and ammunition industry was directly responsible for $886.5 million Pittman-Robertson taxes of the $1.3 billion apportioned to the states through the USFWS for state conservation and education programs in 2024 alone. Since its inception in 1937, the firearm and ammunition industry has paid over $29 billion into the fund, when adjusted for inflation.

About NSSF

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.