By USA Shooting
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (September 21, 2026) – USA Shooting joined leaders from across the nation’s hunting, shooting, conservation, and outdoor recreation communities at the White House this week as President Donald J. Trump announced new actions focused on expanding access to public lands, strengthening America’s hunting heritage, and engaging the next generation in America’s outdoor traditions. USA Shooting CEO Kelly Reisdorf and Board Director and Vice Chair Ward “Trig” French attended the Great American Outdoorsmen event at the White House alongside leaders from organizations across the broader hunting, shooting, conservation, and outdoor recreation community.
For USA Shooting, participation in the event reflects something larger than a single gathering: Olympic and Paralympic shooting is one important part of America’s much broader shooting and outdoor ecosystem. The Executive Order, Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage, directs federal agencies to pursue expanded opportunities for “hunting, fishing, shooting, and other land access opportunities for recreation,” while also addressing recreational infrastructure and access, opportunities for individuals with disabilities, and programs intended to engage youth and veterans in America’s hunting and outdoor traditions. “America’s shooting sports are part of a much broader outdoor and conservation tradition,” said Reisdorf. “The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is uniquely American, supported across generations by hunters, anglers, conservation organizations, and a user-funded system in which firearms and ammunition have helped generate billions of dollars for wildlife conservation, habitat, and public access. USA Shooting has an important role within that broader ecosystem: strengthening the connections and pathways that allow Americans to discover the shooting sports, develop their abilities, and, for those with the talent and ambition, pursue excellence all the way to the Olympic and Paralympic stage.”
That philosophy is reflected in USA Shooting’s Strategic Plan, which centers the organization on three priorities: achieving high-performance excellence, increasing sustainable resources, and mobilizing participation and pathways. The plan calls for expanding access, strengthening pipelines, and collaborating with grassroots partners and other feeder systems to help grow the shooting community and fuel the next generation of champions. USA Shooting’s mission is to enable U.S. shooting athletes to achieve Paralympic and Olympic success while inspiring lifelong passion and participation in the shooting sports. That mission depends on a healthy shooting ecosystem long before an athlete ever reaches a National Team.
A future Olympian’s journey may begin on a hunting trip with a parent, at a local range, through a youth shooting program, on a collegiate team, or with a coach who recognizes unusual talent. From those first experiences can come competition, development, international competition, and ultimately the opportunity to represent the United States on the world stage. Few countries possess the depth and breadth of America’s shooting sports community. Across the United States, millions participate through local clubs, youth programs, collegiate teams, conservation organizations, competitions, and recreational shooting. Each part of that community plays a different role, but together they create the environment from which future American shooting athletes can emerge.
That is why USA Shooting continues to build relationships across the hunting, conservation, education, outdoor recreation, and firearms communities. These organizations have different missions and areas of expertise, but stronger connections among them can expand opportunity, strengthen pathways, and help sustain America’s shooting traditions for future generations.
As the United States prepares to welcome the world for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, USA Shooting believes those connections are increasingly important. “We have an opportunity to work together across America’s shooting community in ways we haven’t always done before,” Reisdorf said. “No organization should define the ceiling of a young athlete’s ambition. Whether someone wants to enjoy the shooting sports for a lifetime, compete locally, shoot collegiately, or one day represent the United States on an Olympic or Paralympic podium, that journey should belong to them. Our job should not be to decide how far a young shooter ought to go. Our job should be to make sure the next door is there if they choose to walk through it. When our organizations connect those pathways and work together to create opportunity, the entire American shooting community becomes stronger.”
USA Shooting is the National Governing Body for Olympic and Paralympic shooting sports in the United States, responsible for developing America’s elite shooting athletes and fielding Team USA in international competition. Through partnerships across the broader shooting-sports community, USA Shooting is working to strengthen the pathways that connect more American athletes to the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.
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About USA Shooting
USA Shooting, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the Olympic & Paralympic Shooting Sports in April 1995. The organization develops and implements programs to promote growth in the sport and serves as a sanctioning body for local and national competitions. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, USA Shooting has a full-time staff dedicated to our sport.