Walleye Fishing & Protecting Public Lands Access

POMA'25 highlights & more.

Jun 27, 2025

Good afternoon,

For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.

If you’re just discovering my musings, here’s a backgrounder and make sure we’re connected on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Quick Thoughts

Support and follow the work of IWF’s Center for Energy and Conservation today if you haven’t already.

President Trump has convinced delinquent NATO members to commit to 5% GDP spending under the historic “Hague Defense Commitment” during this week’s annual NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands.

The Department of Interior (DOI) has officially implemented the EXPLORE Act to boost outdoor recreation on public lands. FTW!

Palantir and The Nuclear Company have announced a new partnership to scale up nuclear energy development.

Watch this great video from Gordon Castle Walled Garden about Lady Caroline - an early pioneer of fly fishing.

Unfortunately, the Senate Parliamentarian stripped the provision pertaining to suppressor deregulation from the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).

Grammy-nominated artist John Ondrasik released an updated version of his hit “Superman” in honor of Israeli hostages. And his better half, Carla, was just profiled by IWFeatures about her work in the musician industry and beyond.

That’s it for the week. Stay tuned for next Friday!

Fishing the Walleye Capital of the World & Conservatives Rally for Public Lands

I’ve just returned from Lake Erie, Ohio, where I spent the last week. I attended the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) Annual Meeting at Maumee Lake, Ohio, located about an hour south of Detroit, Michigan. I’ve served as Secretary these last four years and will be moving up in the organization very soon. (Stay tuned!) We’ve been rebuilding the group. The initial feedback I heard from attendees this week is this was the best outdoor summit they’ve attended.

From field trips to two range visits, there was something for every attendee. Shooting at the legendary Camp Perry to visiting Lake Erie Arms to fishing the “Walleye Capital of the World,” I had a blast. As did the rest of our attendees. Scorched weather be damned.

There’s something for every outdoor media person at our Annual Meeting. If interested in joining POMA, check out membership details below.

Join POMA

While in Ohio, I was paying attention to the Senate as it mulls the One Big Beautiful Bill. Earlier this week, the Senate Parliamentarian determined Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) amendment to sell between 2-3 million — and potentially upwards of 250M of 640M of all public lands - didn’t pass muster as tax and budget provision.

Supporters of Senator Lee’s, a small vocal minority, accused hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreationists of being communists who are okay with mismanagement of federal lands. But from my perch, most of the opposition I saw wasn’t from radical preservationists, but from MAGA Trump voters and fellow conservative-leaning sportsmen and women who reject both rewilding and overdevelopment.

Lee, however, is still adamant about pushing it and wants to substitute with a watered down yet still problematic provision.

Public lands shouldn’t be a zero-sum game. As I mentioned, there’s a middle road on public lands policy - against rewildling and overdevelopment. Follow the Federal Land and Policy Management Act (FLPMA) as a guide.

Need a primer on this topic? Catch up here:

The Conservative Case for Public Lands

Gabriella Hoffman

Jun 20

As the Senate debates the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a provision to authorize the sale of at least three million public land acres is being considered. About 28% of all U.S. land is publicly-held by the federal government. WSJ reports upwards of 258M of 640M federally-held public land acres—about 40%—cou…

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