In the continuing celebratory spirit of America’s 250th anniversary, the Trump administration released the 2026 Make America Beautiful Again (MABA) Midterm Report, a progress report prepared by the MABA Commission to provide updates on conservation-related initiatives and policy actions taken since the Commission was established in July 2025. The report begins with an important reminder:
“From the founding of the United States of America, our forefathers have looked with awe at the blessings God has bestowed on this county with our vast prairies, towering mountains, serene deserts, coastal paradises, and rushing rivers. These abundant natural resources and the rich heritage of discovery, hunting, fishing, and trapping are key to the American spirit.”
The more than 40-page report highlights a wide range of accomplishments in which all Americans can take pride. For hunters and shooters in particular, it contains several noteworthy themes that merit special attention as they support many of the enduring priorities advocated by NRA and its members for decades.
Hunters and recreational shooters are conservation partners, not just consumers of public land, and they also serve as principal conservation stakeholders. It is encouraging to see these longstanding contributions to outdoor stewardship formally recognized at a national level. Through excise taxes on firearms and ammunition, hunting and shooting communities generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually for wildlife agencies, habitat restoration, wildlife research, hunter education, as well as the construction, operation, and maintenance of public shooting ranges.
Hunters also serve as an invaluable aid in supporting science-based wildlife management by not only helping to maintain sustainable wildlife populations but also by providing critical field data through harvest reporting and licensing programs. The MABA progress report demonstrates just how the ongoing efforts of expanding hunting and recreational shooting opportunities are critical in maintaining and growing conservation infrastructure. It is worth emphasizing again: the Trump Administration has consistently recognized hunters and recreational shooters as indispensable conservation partners, not merely users of public land or, the bigger error, as a constituency with competing objectives.
This latest report is part of President Trump’s broader and sustained commitment to protecting America’s outdoor legacy building on landmark achievements such as his signing of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 which was the single largest investment in America’s national parks and public lands in history. The administration also included its reauthorization in the 2027 budget. President Trump signed the Dingell Act into law, the largest public lands legislation in nearly a decade, which designated 1.3 million new acres of wilderness, advanced land and water conservation, and expanded recreational hunting and fishing on federal lands, among many other policy advancements.
Since the start of President Trump’s second term, the White House has worked to advance a large range of executive orders, presidential proclamations, policy initiatives, and public actions that have established a strong framework for conservation while providing the needed strategic direction for stewardship of America’s natural resources.
As the calendar approaches National Shooting Sports Month in August, it is an appropriate time to revisit the President’s message from last year:
“Sports like hunting and fishing also provide a glimpse into the beauties of God’s creation and allow countless Americans to experience the splendors of the great outdoors. For as long as I am President, the Federal Government will abide by the premise that the God-given right to bear arms shall not be infringed.” - Presidential Statement (August 4, 2025)
The MABA Commission approach is clear throughout this latest report in that it reinforces the principle that conservation is most successful when it is voluntary, collaborative, and driven by those who have a direct stake in healthy wildlife populations and natural resources. Just as the same principle applies to active stewardship in protecting the Second Amendment where continued progress depends heavily on citizens remaining vigilant and engaged. NRA and its members have long known that lasting policy achievements are simply not self-executing.
NRA has consistently recognized President Trump’s commitment to America’s hunters, recreational shooters, and law-abiding firearm owners as an integral part of his broader support for the Second Amendment. By elevating the interests of the hunting and shooting community alongside constitutional rights, the administration has reinforced the longstanding principle that the Second Amendment and America’s shooting and hunting heritage are mutually reinforcing priorities deserving of strong and sustained federal support.
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