CREW asks for documents on reversal of trophy hunting import bans

On November 21, 2017, CREW sent a FOIA request to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. FWS) after it abruptly announced that it would be allowing the remains of elephants legally hunted in Zimbabwe and Zambia to be imported into the United States, a reversal of the position taken by the previous administration. The request sought records to understand how and why the U.S. FWS came to its sudden decision to reverse previous trophy hunting import bans, and to learn whether and to what extent the President’s sons influenced the U.S. FWS’s decision making on this issue to advance their own personal interests.

Because the previously submitted FOIA did not yield any results searching for direct communications with the Trump sons or their representatives, this FOIA has been submitted to cover previously un-sought records for the sake of transparency.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, CREW requests the copies of all calendars and/or other records reflecting meetings, full schedules, and phone records, from January 2017 to the present, of:

1. Former Acting Director and current Deputy Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Jim Kurth
2. Deputy Director and current Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Greg Sheehan
3. Deputy Director Steve Guertin; and
4. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Council Designated Federal Officer Joshua Winchell.