Federal Bill Takes Aim at Anti-Hunting Sue-and-Settle Money Machine

A new federal bill is aimed right at one of the ugliest games in wildlife politics: anti-hunting groups suing the government, settling behind closed doors, and walking away with taxpayer-paid attorney fees.

H.R. 9295, the Stop Serial Litigation Act of 2026, was introduced by Congressman Mike Rulli of Ohio. The bill targets the way some activist organizations use the Equal Access to Justice Act, a law that was originally meant to help regular citizens and smaller groups recover attorney fees when they successfully challenge the federal government.

That idea sounds fair on paper. The problem comes when big-money nonprofits use the same system as a business model. Sportsmen’s Alliance says some organizations with tens of millions in assets, represented by nonprofit law firms with hundreds of millions in assets, have been able to recover federal attorney fees while pushing anti-hunting agendas through litigation and settlement pressure.

The bill would cap fee awards at $300,000 per year. That does not stop anyone from filing a lawsuit. It does not take away the courts. It just says taxpayers should not be an open checkbook for serial litigation groups using lawsuits to bend wildlife policy without going through the front door.

Hunters know this fight is not just about one bill or one court case. Season structure, predator control, trapping, public-land access, delisting recovered species, and legal harvest all get dragged into litigation when activists cannot win through science-based management. A lawsuit can tie up agencies, drain money, and force policy through settlement instead of public process.

If a federal agency breaks the law, it should be held accountable. But wildlife management should not be hijacked by a legal fee machine that rewards groups for suing over and over while hunters, ranchers, landowners, and state managers are left cleaning up the mess.

Legal hunting and conservation need honest rules, open process, and decisions grounded in biology. Cutting off taxpayer-funded litigation abuse is a fight worth watching.