Report Jul 27, 2026

National Poll Shows American Public, Hunters Largely United on National Park Wildlife Protection

NPCA Wildlife Poll Summary (4.39 MB)
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The NPCA poll, conducted by YouGov among 1,000 Americans and 300 hunters, examined perspectives related to new Trump administration regulations for hunting in some national parks; the Endangered Species Act; Congressional investments to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions in park landscapes; and other threats to park wildlife populations. Results found that American hunters and the general American public are closely aligned on a variety of national park wildlife conservation issues.

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A grizzly bear nurses her spring cubs at Denali National Park in Alaska.

  camera icon © Kent Miller

The poll was conducted from June 9-22, 2026 and was composed of two parts: a general population sample of 1,000 and a sample of 300 hunters. Results were weighted to be representative of demographics of adults in the United States. The sampling precision of YouGov online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For the general population sample, the estimates are accurate to within +/- 4.1% using a 95% confidence level. The hunter sample credible interval is +/- 6.6%.

Secretarial Order Increasing Hunting in Parks

90%
of Americans agree the National Park Service should provide explanations for changes to hunting and trapping rule changes in national parks.

  • An overwhelming 90% of Americans (89% Republicans, 92% Democrats, 90% Independents) and 89% of American hunters agree the National Park Service should provide explanations for changes to hunting and trapping rule changes in national parks, such as opening new areas to hunting or expanding huntable species.

  • 86% of American hunters and 84% of Americans (80% Republicans, 90% Democrats, 83% Independents) say it is at least somewhat important that they have the opportunity to comment any changes to hunting and trapping regulations on national park lands.

Endangered Species Act

85%
of Americans agree the Endangered Species Act is important for protecting the more than 600 threatened and endangered species that call the national parks home.

  • 85% of Americans (85% Republicans, 84% Democrats, 88% Independents) and 82% of American hunters agree the Endangered Species Act is important for protecting the more than 600 threatened and endangered species that call the national parks home.

  • 63% of Americans oppose (39% Republicans, 86% Democrats, 65% Independents) granting oil and gas companies lifetime exemptions from regulations that protect threatened and endangered species.



Wildlife Crossings

81%
of Americans support continued congressional investment in wildlife crossings to protect motorists and wildlife and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.
  • 81% of Americans (82% Republicans, 82% Democrats, 78 Independents) and 80% of American hunters support continued congressional investment in wildlife crossings to protect motorists and wildlife and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.



Alaska Hunting Rule

  • 70% of Americans oppose (62% Republicans, 79% Democrats, 71% Independents) the National Park Service changing regulations to allow historically banned sport hunting practices in national parks, such as baiting bears, spotlighting bears and wolves, and killing bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens

Oil and Gas Drilling

  • 68% of Americans (53% Republicans, 85% Democrats, 67% Independents) oppose the U.S. Forest Service removing environmental reviews—such as impacts to drinking water, wildlife habitat, and recreation—when evaluating new oil and gas drilling and mining proposals near national parks.

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