IB

Union Calendar No. 496

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4790

[Report No. 106–838]

To recognize hunting heritage and provide opportunities for continued hunting

on public lands.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 29, 2000

Mr. CHAMBLISS (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin,

Mr. THUNE, and Mr. HANSEN) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Resources

SEPTEMBER 12, 2000

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

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

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 29, 2000]

A BILL

To recognize hunting heritage and provide opportunities for

continued hunting on public lands.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•HR 4790 RH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hunting Heritage Pro3 tection Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds the following:

6 (1) Recreational hunting is an important and

7 traditional recreational activity in which 14,000,000

8 Americans 16 years of age and older participate.

9 (2) Hunters have been and continue to be among

10 the foremost supporters of sound wildlife management

11 and conservation practices in the United States.

12 (3) Persons who hunt and organizations related

13 to hunting provide direct assistance to wildlife man14 agers and enforcement officers of Federal, State, and

15 local governments.

16 (4) Purchases of hunting licenses, permits, and

17 stamps and excise taxes on goods used by hunters

18 have generated billions of dollars for wildlife con19 servation, research, and management.

20 (5) Recreational hunting is an essential compo21 nent of effective wildlife management, in that it is an

22 important tool for reducing conflicts between people

23 and wildlife and provides incentives for the conserva24 tion of wildlife and habitats and ecosystems on which

25 wildlife depends.
3

•HR 4790 RH

1 (6) Each State has established at least one agen2 cy staffed by professionally trained wildlife manage3 ment personnel, that has legal authority to manage

4 the wildlife in the State.

5 (7) Recreational hunting is an environmentally

6 acceptable activity that occurs and can be provided

7 for on Federal public lands without adverse effects on

8 other uses of that land and water.

9 SEC. 3. RECREATIONAL HUNTING.

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

11 Federal public lands shall be open to access and use for

12 recreational hunting except—

13 (1) as limited by the Federal agency with re14 sponsibility for Federal public lands—

15 (A) for reasons of national security;

16 (B) for reasons of public safety; or

17 (C) for reasons authorized in applicable

18 Federal statutes as reasons for closure; and

19 (2) as recreational hunting is limited by the

20 State in which the Federal public lands are located.

21 (b) MANAGEMENT.—The head of each Federal agency

22 with authority to manage a natural resource or Federal

23 public lands on which a natural resource depends shall ex24 ercise that authority, consistent with subsection (a), in a

25 manner so as to support, promote, and enhance recreational
4

•HR 4790 RH

1 hunting opportunities, to the extent authorized under State

2 law and regulation and in accordance with applicable Fed3 eral law.

4 (c) NO NET LOSS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal land management de6 cisions and actions should, to the greatest extent prac7 ticable, result in no net loss of land area available for

8 hunting opportunities on Federal public lands.

9 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than October 1

10 of each year, the head of each Federal agency with

11 authority to manage Federal public lands on which

12 recreational hunting occurs shall submit to the Com13 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives

14 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

15 of the Senate a report describing—

16 (A) areas administered by the agency that

17 have been closed during the previous year to rec18 reational hunting and the reasons for such clo19 sure; and

20 (B) areas administered by the agency that

21 were open to recreational hunting to compensate

22 for those areas described under subparagraph

23 (A).

24 (d) AREAS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in this Act shall

25 be construed to compel the opening to recreational hunting
5

•HR 4790 RH

1 of national parks or national monuments administered by

2 the National Park Service.

3 (e) NO PRIORITY.—This section does not require a

4 Federal agency to give preference to hunting over other uses

5 of Federal public lands, or over land or water management

6 priorities established in Federal law.

7 (f) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.—

8 (1) SAVINGS.—Nothing in this Act shall be con9 strued as affecting the authority, jurisdiction, or re10 sponsibility of the several States to manage, control,

11 or regulate fish and resident wildlife under State law

12 or regulations on land or water within a State, in13 cluding Federal public lands, nor as impliedly pre14 empting such State authority.

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

16 shall be construed as authorizing the head of any Fed17 eral agency, or any official of such an agency, to re18 quire licenses or permits to hunt, fish or trap on

19 lands or waters within a State, including on Federal

20 public lands.

21 (3) STATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any State ag22 grieved by the failure of the head of a Federal agency

23 or an official thereof to comply with this subsection

24 may file a civil action in the United States District

25 Court for the district in which the alleged act in vio-
6

•HR 4790 RH

1 lation of this subsection occurred or is occurring to

2 enjoin permanently such act. The court may grant

3 preliminary injunctive relief in any such action if the

4 granting of such relief is appropriate under the facts

5 on which such action is based. A State which is a

6 prevailing party in an action pursuant to this para7 graph shall be awarded its costs and attorneys’ fees.

8 SEC. 4. NATIONAL RECREATIONAL HUNTING COORDINA9 TION COUNCIL.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a

11 National Recreational Hunting Coordination Council (in

12 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Council’’).

13 (b) RECREATIONAL HUNTING RESOURCES CON14 SERVATION PLAN.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council, in cooperation

16 with Federal agencies, States, and tribes, and the

17 hunting community, shall develop a comprehensive

18 recreational hunting and wildlife resource conserva19 tion plan.

20 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall—

21 (A) recommend short- and long-term ac22 tions to be carried out by the Federal agencies

23 identified in the plan to conserve and restore

24 wildlife habitat in a manner so as to support,

25 promote, facilitate, and enhance recreational
7

•HR 4790 RH

1 hunting opportunities on Federal public lands;

2 and

3 (B) include—

4 (i) a review and evaluation of Federal

5 policies that affect recreational hunting op6 portunities on Federal public lands;

7 (ii) recommendations to ensure that

8 Federal agencies consider the social and

9 economic values of healthy wildlife habitat

10 and recreational hunting in land manage11 ment decisions;

12 (iii) recommended actions to be taken

13 by Federal agencies to facilitate and pro14 mote hunting access to appropriate Fed15 eral public lands;

16 (iv) recommended actions to facilitate

17 the transfer of the latest resource informa18 tion and management technologies to wild19 life managers and the public to assist in the

20 conservation and management of wildlife

21 and the promotion of hunting opportunities

22 on Federal public lands;

23 (v) recommendations for improving

24 Federal agency cooperation with States,
8

•HR 4790 RH

1 tribes, wildlife conservation groups, and the

2 hunting community;

3 (vi) measurable objectives of efforts to

4 conserve and restore wildlife habitats that

5 support viable and healthy wildlife re6 sources that may be hunted;

7 (vii) a comprehensive mechanism to

8 evaluate the attainment of the objectives de9 scribed in clause (vi); and

10 (viii) an evaluation of the need for a

11 permanent National Recreational Hunting

12 Coordination Council.

13 (3) INTEGRATION.—To the extent practicable, the

14 Council in developing such plan shall integrate it

15 with existing plans and programs to reduce duplica16 tion of efforts.

17 (4) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than 18

18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the

19 Council shall publish a draft plan in the Federal Reg20 ister and provide opportunity for public review and

21 comment. Not later than 3 years after the date of en22 actment, the Council shall revise and update as nec23 essary the draft plan and submit a final plan to the

24 Committee on Resources of the House of Representa-
9

•HR 4790 RH

1 tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re2 sources of the Senate, and the President.

3 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

4 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Council

5 shall consist of 11 members appointed as follows:

6 (A) 1 member appointed by the Secretary of

7 the Interior.

8 (B) 1 member appointed by the Secretary of

9 Agriculture.

10 (C) 1 member appointed by the Secretary of

11 Defense.

12 (D) 1 member appointed by the Speaker of

13 the House of Representatives.

14 (E) 1 member appointed by the minority

15 leader of the House of Representatives.

16 (F) 1 member appointed by the majority

17 leader of the Senate.

18 (G) 1 member appointed by the minority

19 leader of the Senate.

20 (H) 2 members appointed by the President

21 from among the directors of State fish and wild22 life agencies.

23 (I) 2 members appointed by the President to

24 represent recreational hunters.
10

•HR 4790 RH

1 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Council shall

2 be filled in the manner in which the original appoint3 ment was made.

4 (3) PAY.—Each member shall serve without pay.

5 (4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall re6 ceive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

7 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and

8 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

9 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Council

10 shall elect a Chairperson of the Council from among

11 its members.

12 (d) POWERS OF COUNCIL.—

13 (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Council

14 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold

15 hearings, sit and act at times and places, take testi16 mony, and receive evidence as the Council considers

17 appropriate.

18 (2) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any

19 member or agency of the Council may, if authorized

20 by the Council, take any action which the Council is

21 authorized to take by this subsection.

22 (e) TERMINATION.—The Council shall terminate upon

23 the earlier of the date of submission of the final plan under

24 subsection (b) or 3 years after the date of the enactment

25 of this Act.
11

•HR 4790 RH

1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Inte3 rior $250,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2003

4 to support the Council established under this section.

5 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall become effec6 tive January 20, 2001.

7 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

8 In this Act:

9 (1) HUNTING.—The term ‘‘hunting’’ means the

10 lawful pursuit, hunting, trapping, shooting, capture,

11 collection, or killing of wildlife or the attempt to pur12 sue, hunt, trap, shoot, capture, collect, or kill wildlife.

13 (2) FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘Fed14 eral public lands’’ means any land or water the title

15 to which is in the United States after the date of en16 actment of this Act.
Union Calendar No. 496

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4790

[Report No. 106–838]

A BILL

To recognize hunting heritage and provide

opportunities for continued hunting on public lands.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2000

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,

and ordered to be printed