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Trump order directs agencies to prioritize recreational fishing

Illustration accompanying article: Trump order directs agencies to prioritize recreational fishing
  • President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order directing federal agencies to prioritize recreational fishing and reconsider the scientific standards and environmental regulations that govern US fisheries.
  • The order, titled "Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation," directs the Commerce Department to review guidelines under the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Interior Department to create a program converting decommissioned offshore oil and gas structures into artificial reefs.
  • The National Marine Fisheries Service told the Guardian the order delivers "long-overdue stability to America's $1.2tn outdoor recreation economy."
  • The order creates an Interagency Shark and Pinniped Depredation Task Force to examine barriers to shark fisheries, including international agreements and listings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
  • The Marine Conservation Institute said that if every administration rollback proposed survives legal challenge, US waters could end up with just 4% under any form of protection, down from 26%.
 2026-09-25 · 6 MIN READ

Judge clears path for Catalina Island cull of 2,000 mule deer

Illustration accompanying article: Judge clears path for Catalina Island cull of 2,000 mule deer
  • A Los Angeles County judge tentatively denied a preliminary injunction Tuesday that would have blocked the Catalina Island Conservancy from killing nearly all of the island's 2,000 mule deer.
  • The conservancy, which controls 88% of Santa Catalina Island, says the cull is needed because non-native deer eat native shrubs and accelerate the spread of invasive grasses that ignite and spread fire more easily.
  • Conservancy communications director Pepe Barton called the decision "never our first choice" and described it as a "necessary step" to protect the island's native species.
  • Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn asked California Governor Gavin Newsom to intervene; an online petition against the cull had gathered more than 32,000 signatures.
  • The five-year plan calls for about 200 deer to be hunted with rifles over the next two months, with island residents allowed one hunting season from late October to mid-December.
 2026-09-03 · 5 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Report: Trump administration explores Yosemite land exchange with developer