II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1348 

To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide opportunities for continued 

hunting on Federal public land. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 25, 2009 

Mr. CHAMBLISS (for himself, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. 

COCHRAN, Mr. BURR, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. VITTER, Mr. WICKER, Mr. 

BAUCUS, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide 

opportunities for continued hunting on Federal public land. 

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 ‘‘Hunting Heritage Pro5 tection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) hunting is an important and traditional rec2 reational activity in which 13,000,000 people in the 

3 United States 16 years of age and older participate; 

4 (2) hunters have been and continue to be 

5 among the foremost supporters of sound wildlife 

6 management and conservation practices in the 

7 United States; 

8 (3) persons who hunt and organizations relating 

9 to hunting provide direct assistance to wildlife man10 agers and enforcement officers of the Federal Gov11 ernment and State and local governments; 

12 (4) purchases of hunting licenses, permits, and 

13 stamps and excise taxes on goods used by hunters 

14 have generated billions of dollars for wildlife con15 servation, research, and management; 

16 (5) hunting is an essential component of effec17 tive wildlife management by— 

18 (A) reducing conflicts between people and 

19 wildlife; 

20 (B) balancing wildlife populations with the 

21 natural carrying capacity of the land; and 

22 (C) providing incentives for the conserva23 tion of— 

24 (i) wildlife; and 


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1 (ii) habitats and ecosystems on which 

2 wildlife depend; 

3 (6) each State has established at least 1 agency 

4 staffed by professionally trained wildlife manage5 ment personnel that has legal authority to manage 

6 the wildlife in the State; and 

7 (7) hunting is an environmentally beneficial ac8 tivity that occurs, and can be provided for, on Fed9 eral public land without adverse effects on other 

10 uses of the land. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 

14 means the head of any Federal agency that has au15 thority to manage a natural resource or Federal 

16 public land. 

17 (2) FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 

19 public land’’ means any land or water that is— 

20 (i) publicly accessible; 

21 (ii) owned by the United States; and 

22 (iii) managed by an executive agency 

23 for purposes that include the conservation 

24 of natural resources. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Federal pub2 lic land’’ does not include any land held in trust 

3 for the benefit of an Indian tribe or member of 

4 an Indian tribe. 

5 (3) HUNTING.—The term ‘‘hunting’’ means the 

6 lawful pursuit, trapping, shooting, capture, collec7 tion, or killing of wildlife. 

8 SEC. 4. HUNTING. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to existing rights, Federal 

10 public land shall be open to access and use for hunting 

11 except as limited by— 

12 (1) the agency head with jurisdiction over the 

13 Federal public land— 

14 (A) for reasons of national security; 

15 (B) for reasons of public safety; or 

16 (C) for any other reasons for limiting ac17 cess authorized by applicable Federal law; and 

18 (2) any law of the State in which the Federal 

19 public land is located that is applicable to hunting. 

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

21 to the extent authorized under State law, and in accord22 ance with applicable Federal law, each agency head shall 

23 manage Federal public land under the jurisdiction of the 

24 agency head in a manner that supports, promotes, and 

25 enhances access for hunting. 


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1 (c) NO NET LOSS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency head shall, to 

3 the maximum extent practicable, ensure that Fed4 eral public land management decisions and actions 

5 result in no net loss of land area accessible for hunt6 ing on Federal public land. 

7 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than October 

8 1 of each year, each agency head with authority to 

9 manage Federal public land on which hunting occurs 

10 shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri11 tion, and Forestry and the Committee on Energy 

12 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com13 mittee on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural 

14 Resources of the House of Representatives a report 

15 that describes— 

16 (A)(i) any Federal public land adminis17 tered by the agency head in which access for 

18 hunting was limited at any time during the year 

19 as compared to access available during the pre20 vious year; and 

21 (ii) the reason for the limitation; and 

22 (B) areas administered by the agency head 

23 that were opened to hunting to compensate for 

24 the limitations of the areas described in sub25 paragraph (A)(i). 


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1 (3) CLOSURES OF 5,000 OR MORE ACRES.—The 

2 withdrawal, change of classification, or change of 

3 management status that effectively closes or limits 

4 access to 5,000 or more acres of Federal public land 

5 for hunting shall take effect only if, before the date 

6 of withdrawal or change, the agency head that has 

7 jurisdiction over the Federal public land submits to 

8 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For9 estry and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re10 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Agri11 culture and the Committee on Natural Resources of 

12 the House of Representatives written notice of the 

13 withdrawal or change. 

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

15 compels the opening to hunting of national parks or na16 tional monuments under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 

17 of the Interior. 

18 (e) NO PRIORITY.—Nothing in this Act requires a 

19 Federal agency to give preference to hunting over other 

20 uses of Federal public land or over land or water manage21 ment priorities established by Federal law. 

22 (f) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.— 

23 (1) SAVINGS.—Nothing in this Act affects the 

24 authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility of a State to 

25 manage, control, or regulate fish and wildlife under 


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1 State law on land or water in the State, including 

2 Federal public land. 

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

4 authorizes an agency head to require a license or 

5 permit to hunt, fish, or trap on land or water in a 

6 State, including on Federal public land in the State. 

7 (3) STATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any State aggrieved by 

9 the failure of an agency head or employee to 

10 comply with this Act may bring a civil action in 

11 the United States District Court for the district 

12 in which the failure occurs for a permanent in13 junction. 

14 (B) PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION.—If the 

15 district court determines, based on the facts, 

16 that a preliminary injunction is appropriate, the 

17 district court may grant a preliminary injunc18 tion. 

19 (C) COURT COSTS.—If the district court 

20 issues an injunction under this paragraph or 

21 otherwise finds in favor of the State, the dis22 trict court shall award to the State any reason23 able costs of bringing the civil action (including 

24 an attorney’s fee). 

Æ 


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