The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is extending the Voluntary Lead-Free Hunting Ammunition Incentive Program for the 2025-2026 hunting season in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The decision follows a successful pilot program and survey results indicating hunters are more likely to use lead-free ammunition in future hunts on national wildlife refuges when an incentive program is available. The program includes 25 hunting seasons at 13 refuges in 11 states.
“We are committed to providing access to quality hunting experiences on national wildlife refuges and supporting the contributions of the hunting community to wildlife conservation,” said USFWS Director Brian Nesvik. “Our analysis after the first year of the pilot indicates most hunters were satisfied with the program and we are pleased to expand it to accommodate more hunters.”
The USFWS is engaged in a deliberate, transparent process of evaluating the future of lead use on Service lands and waters. Lead ammunition is widely available and commonly used for hunting.
The lead-free program was launched in 2024 at seven national wildlife refuges and encourages voluntary adoption of lead-free ammunition. The USFWS collaborated on recommendations for the program from the Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council (HWCC) as well as from states, non-governmental groups, industry partners and the public. The HWCC is a federal advisory committee established by the Secretaries of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture.
This voluntary program offers hunters an opportunity to try ammunition types that reduce the risk of unintentional lead ingestion by scavenging wildlife. Participating hunters at each refuge will benefit from an incentivized rebate program that includes prepaid debit cards for reimbursement of the cost of lead-free ammunition with proof of purchase and other refuge-specific verifications. Participating hunters will receive up to $50 per box of rifle ammunition and $25 per box for shotgun or muzzleloader, for up to two boxes.
The Service has identified the following units for the program during the 2025-2026 hunting season:
- Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland—deer and spring turkey hunting
- Camas National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho—elk hunting
- Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, West Virginia— deer, black bear, upland/small game, and fall and spring turkey hunting
- Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey—deer hunting
- Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland—deer and spring turkey hunting
- Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge, New Hampshire—deer and spring turkey hunting
- Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, New York—deer hunting
- Nulhegan Division of Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Vermont—moose and deer hunting
- Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts—deer hunting
- Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina—deer hunting
- Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin—deer hunting
- Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey—deer, black bear, upland/small game, and fall and spring turkey hunting
- William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon—elk hunting
Under the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the Service permits hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges along with four other types of wildlife-dependent recreation, including wildlife photography, environmental education, wildlife observation and interpretation, when they are compatible with an individual refuge’s purpose and mission. Hunting, within specified limits, is currently permitted on more than 430 units.
For more information about the incentive program visit this USWFS webpage.
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