Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council Summer Meeting: July 23, 2025

Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council
Summer Meeting: Thursday, July 23, 2025
2:00 PM EST – 4:00 PM EST

Meeting Venue: Virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams

Please refer to the Federal Register Notice for more meeting details.
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Transcript

July 23, 2025
All times are eastern time

2:00pm	Convene Welcome and Council member roll call/introductions: - John Devney, HWCC Chair - Doug Hobbs, HWCC Designated Federal Officer
2:05pm	Opening Commentss: Comments from representatives of the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture - Kevin Lilly - Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish & Wildlife & Parks, Department of the Interior - Justin “J” Shirley - Principal Deputy Director, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Ellen Shultzabarger - Senior Advisor (acting) - Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Department of Agriculture
2:40pm	Review of HWCC recommendations & identification of critical wildlife conservation issues - HWCC Chair & members Correspondence Summary
3:00pm	Public comment session - Lauren McCain - Animal Welfare Institute - Comments - Brenda Elmer, Executive Director - North Dakota Corn Growers Association (see the meeting transcript for the comments of Ms. Elmer)
3:10pm	U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System updates - Presentation - Cynthia Martinez, Chief – National Wildlife Refuge System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chronic Wasting Disease update - Samantha Gibbs, Wildlife Veterinarian - National Wildlife Refuge System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Update on the National Wildlife Refuge System voluntary lead-free ammunition incentive program - Nick Kaczor, National Coordinator – National Wildlife Refuge System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Update on the 2025/2026 National Wildlife Refuge System Hunt/Fish Annual Rule - Debbie DeVore, Chief - Division of Natural Resources and Conservation Planning, National Wildlife Refuge System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tentative: Update on U.S. Department of Agriculture issues - Steve Lohr, Natural Resources Director - U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
4:00pm	ADJOURN

Doug Hobbs

Chief, Division of Partners and Intergovernmental Affairs, Traditional Partners

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Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council

"The Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council's purpose is to provide recommendations to the Federal Government, through the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, that (a) benefit wildlife resources; (b) encourage partnership among the public; sporting conservation...

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