Trump Lifts Hunting Restrictions On Federal Lands In Montana

Well, I didn't see this on my 2026 BINGO card. Headlines are flying across the internet claiming President Donald Trump is lifting hunting bans on many federal lands and national park areas. Almost immediately, hunters across Montana started asking the same question:

“Wait… hunting is allowed in Yellowstone now?”

No. Calm down, Elmer Fudd!.

You still cannot hunt in Yellowstone National Park. The same goes for Glacier National Park. Hunter will not be picking off bull elk at Old Faithful while tourists duck behind the gift shop clutching their $10 coffee cups.

A lot of the confusion comes from people treating all federal land the same. National Parks and National Recreation Areas are two completely different things.

The Montana Connection

I did a little research on the 55 sites that will be affected by the lift in restrictions. The one Montana site that appears connected to these changes is Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Carbon County. Hunting already exists there under Montana regulations, but some federal restrictions tied to access, trails, or retrieving downed game could potentially loosen up.

Montana Sees Hunting Differently

This is probably where Montana sees things a little differently than the internet outrage machine. Hunting out here is not some weird hobby people discovered on television. It helps fund conservation, supports rural communities, manages wildlife populations, and fills a lot of freezers every fall.

Most hunters are not reading this story through a political lens. They are wondering whether this could improve public access or make retrieving game less complicated on lands where hunting is already legal.

And honestly, if you have ever packed an elk uphill through deadfall while questioning every decision that led you to that moment, you probably understand exactly why hunters care about those details.

Meanwhile, the anti-hunting crowd immediately acted like Yellowstone was about to turn into the Wild West overnight. This mostly proves that a lot of people reacted before actually reading what changes were taking place.

The Bottom Line

This is not really about open season in Yellowstone National Park for hunting. It is about revisiting federal restrictions in places where hunting already exists. So if you were wondering, no, you still cannot shoot critters inside Yellowstone Park.