I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2799 

To establish the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory 

Committee to advise the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture 

on wildlife and habitat conservation, hunting, recreational shooting, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 23, 2013 

Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. WITTMAN, and 

Mr. WALZ) 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 

A BILL 

To establish the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation 

Council Advisory Committee to advise the Secretaries 

of the Interior and Agriculture on wildlife and habitat 

conservation, hunting, recreational shooting, and for 

other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Sportsmen’s Heritage 

5 And Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. WILDLIFE AND HUNTING HERITAGE CONSERVA2 TION COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

3 The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 661 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 10. WILDLIFE AND HUNTING HERITAGE CONSERVA7 TION COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

9 the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council 

10 Advisory Committee (in this section referred to as the ‘Ad11 visory Committee’) to advise the Secretaries of the Interior 

12 and Agriculture on wildlife and habitat conservation, 

13 hunting, and recreational shooting. 

14 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

15 Advisory Committee shall advise the Secretaries with re16 gard to— 

17 ‘‘(1) implementation of Executive Order No. 

18 13443: Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wild19 life Conservation, which directs Federal agencies ‘to 

20 facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting 

21 opportunities and the management of game species 

22 and their habitat’; 

23 ‘‘(2) policies or programs to conserve and re24 store wetlands, agricultural lands, grasslands, forest, 

25 and rangeland habitats; 


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1 ‘‘(3) policies or programs to promote opportuni2 ties and access to hunting and shooting sports on 

3 Federal lands; 

4 ‘‘(4) policies or programs to recruit and retain 

5 new hunters and shooters; 

6 ‘‘(5) policies or programs that increase public 

7 awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation 

8 and the social and economic benefits of recreational 

9 hunting and shooting; and 

10 ‘‘(6) policies or programs that encourage co11 ordination among the public, the hunting and shoot12 ing sports community, wildlife conservation groups, 

13 and States, tribes, and the Federal Government. 

14 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

15 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com17 mittee shall consist of no more than 16 discre18 tionary members and 7 ex officio members. 

19 ‘‘(B) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The ex offi20 cio members are— 

21 ‘‘(i) the Director of the United States 

22 Fish and Wildlife Service or a designated 

23 representative of the Director; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Director of the Bureau of 

2 Land Management or a designated rep3 resentative of the Director; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the Director of the National 

5 Park Service or a designated representa6 tive of the Director; 

7 ‘‘(iv) the Chief of the Forest Service 

8 or a designated representative of the Chief; 

9 ‘‘(v) the Chief of the Natural Re10 sources Conservation Service or a des11 ignated representative of the Chief; 

12 ‘‘(vi) the Administrator of the Farm 

13 Service Agency or a designated representa14 tive of the Administrator; and 

15 ‘‘(vii) the Executive Director of the 

16 Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 

17 ‘‘(C) DISCRETIONARY MEMBERS.—The dis18 cretionary members shall be appointed jointly 

19 by the Secretaries from at least one of each of 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) State fish and wildlife agencies. 

22 ‘‘(ii) Game bird hunting organiza23 tions. 

24 ‘‘(iii) Wildlife conservation organiza25 tions. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Big game hunting organizations. 

2 ‘‘(v) The tourism, outfitter, or guiding 

3 industry. 

4 ‘‘(vi) The firearms or ammunition 

5 manufacturing industry. 

6 ‘‘(vii) The hunting or shooting equip7 ment retail industry. 

8 ‘‘(viii) Tribal resource management 

9 organizations. 

10 ‘‘(ix) The agriculture industry. 

11 ‘‘(x) The ranching industry. 

12 ‘‘(D) ELIGIBILITY.—Prior to the appoint13 ment of the discretionary members, the Secre14 taries shall determine that all individuals nomi15 nated for appointment to the Advisory Com16 mittee, and the organization each individual 

17 represents, actively support and promote sus18 tainable-use hunting, wildlife conservation, and 

19 recreational shooting. 

20 ‘‘(2) TERMS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

22 subparagraph (B), members of the Advisory 

23 Committee shall be appointed for a term of 4 

24 years. Members shall not be appointed for more 

25 than 3 consecutive or nonconsecutive terms. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As 

2 designated by the Secretary at the time of ap3 pointment, of the members first appointed— 

4 ‘‘(i) 6 members shall be appointed for 

5 a term of 4 years; 

6 ‘‘(ii) 5 members shall be appointed for 

7 a term of 3 years; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) 5 members shall be appointed 

9 for a term of 2 years. 

10 ‘‘(3) PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC ADVISORY STA11 TUS.—No individual may be appointed as a discre12 tionary member of the Advisory Committee while 

13 serving as an officer or employee of the Federal 

14 Government. 

15 ‘‘(4) VACANCY AND REMOVAL.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy on the 

17 Advisory Committee shall be filled in the man18 ner in which the original appointment was 

19 made. 

20 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL.—Advisory Committee 

21 members shall serve at the discretion of the 

22 Secretaries and may be removed at any time for 

23 good cause. 

24 ‘‘(5) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—Each ap25 pointed member may continue to serve after the exVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:30 Jul 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2799.IH H2799

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1 piration of the term of office to which such member 

2 was appointed until a successor has been appointed. 

3 ‘‘(6) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

4 Advisory Committee shall be appointed for a 3-year 

5 term by the Secretaries, jointly, from among the 

6 members of the Advisory Committee. An individual 

7 may not be appointed as Chairperson for more than 

8 2 consecutive or nonconsecutive terms. 

9 ‘‘(7) PAY AND EXPENSES.—Members of the Ad10 visory Committee shall serve without pay for such 

11 service, but each member of the Advisory Committee 

12 shall be reimbursed for travel and lodging incurred 

13 through attending meetings of the Advisory Com14 mittee approved subgroup meetings in the same 

15 amounts and under the same conditions as Federal 

16 employees (in accordance with section 5703 of title 

17 5, United States Code). 

18 ‘‘(8) MEETINGS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com20 mittee shall meet at the call of the Secretaries, 

21 the chairperson, or a majority of the members, 

22 but not less frequently than twice annually. 

23 ‘‘(B) OPEN MEETINGS.—Each meeting of 

24 the Advisory Committee shall be open to the 

25 public. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PRIOR NOTICE OF MEETINGS.—Time2 ly notice of each meeting of the Advisory Com3 mittee shall be published in the Federal Reg4 ister and be submitted to trade publications and 

5 publications of general circulation. 

6 ‘‘(D) SUBGROUPS.—The Advisory Com7 mittee may establish such workgroups or sub8 groups as it deems necessary for the purpose of 

9 compiling information or conducting research. 

10 However, such workgroups may not conduct 

11 business without the direction of the Advisory 

12 Committee and must report in full to the Advi13 sory Committee. 

14 ‘‘(9) QUORUM.—Nine members of the Advisory 

15 Committee shall constitute a quorum. 

16 ‘‘(d) EXPENSES.—The expenses of the Advisory 

17 Committee that the Secretaries determine to be reasonable 

18 and appropriate shall be paid by the Secretaries. 

19 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, TECHNICAL SERV20 ICES, AND ADVICE.—A designated Federal Officer shall 

21 be jointly appointed by the Secretaries to provide to the 

22 Advisory Committee the administrative support, technical 

23 services, and advice that the Secretaries determine to be 

24 reasonable and appropriate. 

25 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED.—Not later than September 30 

2 of each year, the Advisory Committee shall submit 

3 a report to the Secretaries, the Committee on Nat4 ural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of 

5 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

6 Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee 

7 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen8 ate. If circumstances arise in which the Advisory 

9 Committee cannot meet the September 30 deadline 

10 in any year, the Secretaries shall advise the Chair11 persons of each such Committee of the reasons for 

12 such delay and the date on which the submission of 

13 the report is anticipated. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para15 graph (1) shall describe— 

16 ‘‘(A) the activities of the Advisory Com17 mittee during the preceding year; 

18 ‘‘(B) the reports and recommendations 

19 made by the Advisory Committee to the Secre20 taries during the preceding year; and 

21 ‘‘(C) an accounting of actions taken by the 

22 Secretaries as a result of the recommendations. 

23 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

24 Advisory Committee shall be exempt from the Federal Ad25 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 


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1 ‘‘(h) ABOLISHMENT OF THE EXISTING WILDLIFE

2 AND HUNTING HERITAGE CONSERVATION COUNCIL ADVI3 SORY COMMITTEE.—Effective on the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Con5 servation Council formed in furtherance of section 441 of 

6 the Revised Statutes (43 U.S.C. 1457), the Fish and 

7 Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a), and other Acts 

8 applicable to specific bureaus of the Department of the 

9 Interior is hereby abolished.’’. 

Æ 


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