IB 

Union Calendar No. 250 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1825 

[Report No. 113–337, Part I] 

To direct Federal public land management officials to exercise their authority 

under existing law to facilitate use of and access to Federal public 

lands for fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 3, 2013 

Mr. BENISHEK (for himself, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, 

Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. SIMPSON, Ms. JENKINS, Mr. HANNA, Mr. DAINES, 

and Mr. HUDSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 

Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

JANUARY 31, 2014 

Additional sponsors: Mr. KLINE, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. ROSS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. 

HARRIS, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. GINGREY of Georgia, Mr. 

FARENTHOLD, Mr. NUGENT, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. HUELSKAMP, Mrs. 

MILLER of Michigan, Mr. LATTA, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. UPTON, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. YODER, Mr. COTTON, Mr. HOLDING, Mr. BARLETTA, Mr. TERRY, Mr. BURGESS, Mrs. 

BLACKBURN, Mr. OWENS, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. 

HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. POMPEO, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. MESSER, Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. 

GIBSON, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. YOUNG of Indiana, Mr. 

BENTIVOLIO, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. BRIDENSTINE, 

Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. COLE, Mr. FLORES, Mr. NUNNELEE, Mr. 

SOUTHERLAND, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. FINCHER, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. BARR, Mr. 


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POE of Texas, Mr. YOHO, Mr. JOYCE, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. 

FLEMING, Mr. ROONEY, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. COBLE, Mrs. BLACK, Mr. 

GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, Mr. BACHUS, Mrs. NOEM, Mr. HECK of Nevada, Mr. RADEL, Mr. 

NEUGEBAUER, Mr. CAMP, Mr. DESANTIS, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. ROKITA, 

Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. LANKFORD, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. LONG, Mr. 

GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. RICE of South 

Carolina, Mrs. WALORSKI, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. 

LUETKEMEYER, and Mr. PITTENGER

JANUARY 31, 2014 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources 

JANUARY 31, 2014 

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

A BILL 

To direct Federal public land management officials to exercise their authority under existing law to facilitate use 

of and access to Federal public lands for fishing, sport 

hunting, and recreational shooting, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recreational Fishing 

5 and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) recreational fishing and hunting are impor9 tant and traditional activities in which millions of 

10 Americans participate; 

11 (2) recreational anglers and hunters have been 

12 and continue to be among the foremost supporters 

13 of sound fish and wildlife management and conserva14 tion in the United States; 

15 (3) recreational fishing and hunting are envi16 ronmentally acceptable and beneficial activities that 

17 occur and can be provided on Federal public lands 

18 and waters without adverse effects on other uses or 

19 users; 

20 (4) recreational anglers, hunters, and sporting 

21 organizations provide direct assistance to fish and 

22 wildlife managers and enforcement officers of the 

23 Federal Government as well as State and local gov24 ernments by investing volunteer time and effort to 

25 fish and wildlife conservation; 


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1 (5) recreational anglers, hunters, and the asso2 ciated industries have generated billions of dollars of 

3 critical funding for fish and wildlife conservation, re4 search, and management by providing revenues from 

5 purchases of fishing and hunting licenses, permits, 

6 and stamps, as well as excise taxes on fishing, hunt7 ing, and shooting equipment that have generated bil8 lions of dollars of critical funding for fish and wild9 life conservation, research, and management; 

10 (6) recreational shooting is also an important 

11 and traditional activity in which millions of Ameri12 cans participate, safe recreational shooting is a valid 

13 use of Federal public lands, including the establish14 ment of safe and convenient shooting ranges on such 

15 lands, and participation in recreational shooting 

16 helps recruit and retain hunters and contributes to 

17 wildlife conservation; 

18 (7) opportunities to recreationally fish, hunt, 

19 and shoot are declining, which depresses participa20 tion in these traditional activities, and depressed 

21 participation adversely impacts fish and wildlife con22 servation and funding for important conservation ef23 forts; and 

24 (8) the public interest would be served, and our 

25 citizens’ fish and wildlife resources benefitted, by acVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:01 Jan 31, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1825.RH H1825

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1 tion to ensure that opportunities are facilitated to 

2 engage in fishing and hunting on Federal public 

3 land as recognized by Executive Order No. 12962, 

4 relating to recreational fisheries, and Executive 

5 Order No. 13443, relating to facilitation of hunting 

6 heritage and wildlife conservation. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘Fed10 eral public land’’ means any land or water that is 

11 owned and managed by the Bureau of Land Man12 agement or the Forest Service. 

13 (2) FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT OF14 FICIALS.—The term ‘‘Federal public land manage15 ment officials’’ means— 

16 (A) the Secretary of the Interior and Di17 rector of Bureau of Land Management regard18 ing Bureau of Land Management lands and 

19 waters; and 

20 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture and Chief 

21 of the Forest Service regarding the National 

22 Forest System. 

23 (3) HUNTING.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘hunting’’ means 


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1 use of a firearm, bow, or other authorized 

2 means in the lawful— 

3 (i) pursuit, shooting, capture, collec4 tion, trapping, or killing of wildlife; 

5 (ii) attempt to pursue, shoot, capture, 

6 collect, trap, or kill wildlife; or 

7 (iii) the training of hunting dogs, in8 cluding field trials. 

9 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘hunting’’ 

10 does not include the use of skilled volunteers to 

11 cull excess animals (as defined by other Federal 

12 law). 

13 (4) RECREATIONAL FISHING.—The term ‘‘rec14 reational fishing’’ means the lawful— 

15 (A) pursuit, capture, collection, or killing 

16 of fish; or 

17 (B) attempt to capture, collect, or kill fish. 

18 (5) RECREATIONAL SHOOTING.—The term 

19 ‘‘recreational shooting’’ means any form of sport, 

20 training, competition, or pastime, whether formal or 

21 informal, that involves the discharge of a rifle, hand22 gun, or shotgun, or the use of a bow and arrow. 


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1 SEC. 4. RECREATIONAL FISHING, HUNTING, AND SHOOT2 ING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights 

4 and subsection (g), and cooperation with the respective 

5 State fish and wildlife agency, Federal public land man6 agement officials shall exercise authority under existing 

7 law, including provisions regarding land use planning, to 

8 facilitate use of and access to Federal public lands, includ9 ing National Monuments, Wilderness Areas, Wilderness 

10 Study Areas, and lands administratively classified as wil11 derness eligible or suitable and primitive or semi-primitive 

12 areas, for fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shoot13 ing, except as limited by— 

14 (1) statutory authority that authorizes action or 

15 withholding action for reasons of national security, 

16 public safety, or resource conservation; 

17 (2) any other Federal statute that specifically 

18 precludes recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting 

19 on specific Federal public lands, waters, or units 

20 thereof; and 

21 (3) discretionary limitations on recreational 

22 fishing, hunting, and shooting determined to be nec23 essary and reasonable as supported by the best sci24 entific evidence and advanced through a transparent 

25 public process. 


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1 (b) MANAGEMENT.—Consistent with subsection (a), 

2 the head of each Federal public land management agency 

3 shall exercise its land management discretion— 

4 (1) in a manner that supports and facilitates 

5 recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting opportu6 nities; 

7 (2) to the extent authorized under applicable 

8 State law; and 

9 (3) in accordance with applicable Federal law. 

10 (c) PLANNING.— 

11 (1) EVALUATION OF EFFECTS ON OPPORTUNI12 TIES TO ENGAGE IN RECREATIONAL FISHING, HUNT13 ING, OR SHOOTING.—Federal public land planning 

14 documents, including land resources management 

15 plans, resource management plans, and comprehen16 sive conservation plans, shall include a specific eval17 uation of the effects of such plans on opportunities 

18 to engage in recreational fishing, hunting, or shoot19 ing. 

20 (2) NO MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.—No action 

21 taken under this Act, or under section 4 of the Na22 tional Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 

23 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd), either individually or cu24 mulatively with other actions involving Federal pub25 lic lands or lands managed by the United States 


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1 Fish and Wildlife Service, shall be considered to be 

2 a major Federal action significantly affecting the 

3 quality of the human environment, and no additional 

4 identification, analysis, or consideration of environ5 mental effects, including cumulative effects, is nec6 essary or required. 

7 (3) OTHER ACTIVITY NOT CONSIDERED.—Fed8 eral public land management officials are not re9 quired to consider the existence or availability of rec10 reational fishing, hunting, or shooting opportunities 

11 on adjacent or nearby public or private lands in the 

12 planning for or determination of which Federal pub13 lic lands are open for these activities or in the set14 ting of levels of use for these activities on Federal 

15 public lands, unless the combination or coordination 

16 of such opportunities would enhance the recreational 

17 fishing, hunting, or shooting opportunities available 

18 to the public. 

19 (d) FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS.— 

20 (1) LANDS OPEN.—Lands under the jurisdic21 tion of the Bureau of Land Management and the 

22 Forest Service, including Wilderness Areas, Wilder23 ness Study Areas, lands designated as wilderness or 

24 administratively classified as wilderness eligible or 

25 suitable and primitive or semi-primitive areas and 


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1 National Monuments, but excluding lands on the 

2 Outer Continental Shelf, shall be open to rec3 reational fishing, hunting, and shooting unless the 

4 managing Federal agency acts to close lands to such 

5 activity. Lands may be subject to closures or restric6 tions if determined by the head of the agency to be 

7 necessary and reasonable and supported by facts 

8 and evidence, for purposes including resource con9 servation, public safety, energy or mineral produc10 tion, energy generation or transmission infrastruc11 ture, water supply facilities, protection of other per12 mittees, protection of private property rights or in13 terest, national security, or compliance with other 

14 law. 

15 (2) SHOOTING RANGES.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Fed17 eral agency shall use his or her authorities in 

18 a manner consistent with this Act and other ap19 plicable law, to— 

20 (i) lease or permit use of lands under 

21 the jurisdiction of the agency for shooting 

22 ranges; and 

23 (ii) designate specific lands under the 

24 jurisdiction of the agency for recreational 

25 shooting activities. 


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1 (B) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Any des2 ignation under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not 

3 subject the United States to any civil action or 

4 claim for monetary damages for injury or loss 

5 of property or personal injury or death caused 

6 by any activity occurring at or on such des7 ignated lands. 

8 (e) NECESSITY IN WILDERNESS AREAS AND ‘‘WITH9 IN AND SUPPLEMENTAL TO’’ WILDERNESS PURPOSES.— 

10 (1) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMINIS11 TRATION.—The provision of opportunities for hunt12 ing, fishing and recreational shooting, and the con13 servation of fish and wildlife to provide sustainable 

14 use recreational opportunities on designated Federal 

15 wilderness areas shall constitute measures necessary 

16 to meet the minimum requirements for the adminis17 tration of the wilderness area, provided that this de18 termination shall not authorize or facilitate com19 modity development, use, or extraction, motorized 

20 recreational access or use that is not otherwise al21 lowed under the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

22 seq.), or permanent road construction or mainte23 nance within designated wilderness areas. 

24 (2) APPLICATION OF WILDERNESS ACT.—Provi25 sions of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 


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1 seq.), stipulating that wilderness purposes are ‘‘with2 in and supplemental to’’ the purposes of the under3 lying Federal land unit are reaffirmed. When seek4 ing to carry out fish and wildlife conservation pro5 grams and projects or provide fish and wildlife de6 pendent recreation opportunities on designated wil7 derness areas, the head of each Federal agency shall 

8 implement these supplemental purposes so as to fa9 cilitate, enhance, or both, but not to impede the un10 derlying Federal land purposes when seeking to 

11 carry out fish and wildlife conservation programs 

12 and projects or provide fish and wildlife dependent 

13 recreation opportunities in designated wilderness 

14 areas, provided that such implementation shall not 

15 authorize or facilitate commodity development, use 

16 or extraction, or permanent road construction or use 

17 within designated wilderness areas. 

18 (f) REPORT.—Beginning on the second October 1 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act and biennially 

20 on October 1 thereafter, the head of each Federal agency 

21 who has authority to manage Federal public land on which 

22 fishing, hunting, or recreational shooting occurs shall sub23 mit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

24 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

25 Natural Resources of the Senate a report that describes— 


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1 (1) any Federal public land administered by the 

2 agency head that was closed to recreational fishing, 

3 sport hunting, or shooting at any time during the 

4 preceding year; and 

5 (2) the reason for the closure. 

6 (g) CLOSURES OR SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS OF

7 640 OR MORE ACRES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Other than closures estab9 lished or prescribed by land planning actions re10 ferred to in subsection (d) or emergency closures de11 scribed in paragraph (3) of this subsection, a perma12 nent or temporary withdrawal, change of classifica13 tion, or change of management status of Federal 

14 public land that effectively closes or significantly re15 stricts 640 or more contiguous acres of Federal pub16 lic land to access or use for fishing or hunting or ac17 tivities related to fishing, hunting, or both, shall 

18 take effect only if, before the date of withdrawal or 

19 change, the head of the Federal agency that has ju20 risdiction over the Federal public land— 

21 (A) publishes appropriate notice of the 

22 withdrawal or change, respectively; 

23 (B) demonstrates that coordination has oc24 curred with a State fish and wildlife agency; 

25 and 


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1 (C) submits to the Committee on Natural 

2 Resources of the House of Representatives and 

3 the Committee on Energy and Natural Re4 sources of the Senate written notice of the with5 drawal or change, respectively. 

6 (2) AGGREGATE OR CUMULATIVE EFFECTS.—If 

7 the aggregate or cumulative effect of separate with8 drawals or changes effectively closes or significantly 

9 restricts 1,280 or more acres of land or water, such 

10 withdrawals and changes shall be treated as a single 

11 withdrawal or change for purposes of paragraph (1). 

12 (3) EMERGENCY CLOSURES.—Nothing in this 

13 Act prohibits a Federal land management agency 

14 from establishing or implementing emergency clo15 sures or restrictions of the smallest practicable area 

16 to provide for public safety, resource conservation, 

17 national security, or other purposes authorized by 

18 law. Such an emergency closure shall terminate after 

19 a reasonable period of time unless converted to a 

20 permanent closure consistent with this Act. 

21 (h) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE UNITS NOT AF22 FECTED.—Nothing in this Act shall affect or modify man23 agement or use of units of the National Park System. 

24 (i) NO PRIORITY.—Nothing in this Act requires a 

25 Federal land management agency to give preference to 


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1 recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting over other uses 

2 of Federal public land or over land or water management 

3 priorities established by Federal law. 

4 (j) CONSULTATION WITH COUNCILS.—In fulfilling 

5 the duties set forth in this Act, the heads of Federal agen6 cies shall consult with respective advisory councils as es7 tablished in Executive Order Nos. 12962 and 13443. 

8 (k) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

10 construed as interfering with, diminishing, or con11 flicting with the authority, jurisdiction, or responsi12 bility of any State to exercise primary management, 

13 control, or regulation of fish and wildlife under State 

14 law (including regulations) on land or water within 

15 the State, including on Federal public land. 

16 (2) FEDERAL LICENSES.—Nothing in this Act 

17 shall be construed to authorize the head of a Federal 

18 agency head to require a license, fee, or permit to 

19 fish, hunt, or trap on land or water in a State, in20 cluding on Federal public land in the States, except 

21 that this paragraph shall not affect the Migratory 

22 Bird Stamp requirement set forth in the Migratory 

23 Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (16 

24 U.S.C. 718 et seq.). 


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Union Calendar No. 250 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1825 

[Report No. 113–337, Part I] 

A BILL 

To direct Federal public land management officials 

shooting, and for other purposes. lands for fishing, sport hunting, and recreational facilitate use of and access to Federal public to exercise their authority under existing law to 

JANUARY 31, 2014 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources 

JANUARY 31, 2014 

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to 

Union and ordered to be printed the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 


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