I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5287 

To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide opportunities for continued 

hunting on Federal public land. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 3, 2006 

Mr. SWEENEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on 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— 

8 (1) recreational hunting is an important and 

9 traditional recreational activity in which 13,000,000 


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1 people in the United States 16 years of age and 

2 older participate; 

3 (2) hunters have been and continue to be 

4 among the foremost supporters of sound wildlife 

5 management and conservation practices in the 

6 United States; 

7 (3) persons who hunt and organizations relating 

8 to hunting provide direct assistance to wildlife man9 agers and enforcement officers of the Federal Gov10 ernment and State and local governments; 

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

12 stamps and excise taxes on goods used by hunters 

13 have generated billions of dollars for wildlife con14 servation, research, and management; 

15 (5) recreational hunting is an essential compo16 nent of effective wildlife management by— 

17 (A) reducing conflicts between people and 

18 wildlife; and 

19 (B) providing incentives for the conserva20 tion of— 

21 (i) wildlife; and 

22 (ii) habitats and ecosystems on which 

23 wildlife depend; 

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

25 staffed by professionally trained wildlife manageVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:28 May 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5287.IH H5287

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1 ment personnel that has legal authority to manage 

2 the wildlife in the State; and 

3 (7) recreational hunting is an environmentally 

4 acceptable activity that occurs and can be provided 

5 for on Federal public land without adverse effects on 

6 other uses of the land. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

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

10 means the head of any Federal agency that has au11 thority to manage a natural resource or Federal 

12 public land on which a natural resource depends. 

13 (2) FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND.— 

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

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

16 (i) publicly accessible; 

17 (ii) owned by the United States; and 

18 (iii) managed by an executive agency 

19 for purposes that include the conservation 

20 of natural resources. 

21 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Federal pub22 lic land’’ does not include any land held in trust 

23 for the benefit of an Indian tribe or member of 

24 an Indian tribe. 


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

2 lawful— 

3 (A) pursuit, trapping, shooting, capture, 

4 collection, or killing of wildlife; or 

5 (B) attempt to pursue, trap, shoot, cap6 ture, collect, or kill wildlife. 

7 SEC. 4. RECREATIONAL HUNTING. 

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

9 Federal public land shall be open to access and use for 

10 recreational hunting except as limited by— 

11 (1) the agency head with jurisdiction over the 

12 Federal public land— 

13 (A) for reasons of national security; 

14 (B) for reasons of public safety; or 

15 (C) for any other reasons for closure au16 thorized by applicable Federal law; and 

17 (2) any law (including regulations) of the State 

18 in which the Federal public land is located that is 

19 applicable to recreational hunting. 

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

21 each agency head shall manage Federal public land under 

22 the jurisdiction of the agency head— 

23 (1) in a manner that supports, promotes, and 

24 enhances recreational hunting opportunities; 


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1 (2) to the extent authorized under State law 

2 (including regulations); and 

3 (3) in accordance with applicable Federal law 

4 (including regulations). 

5 (c) NO NET LOSS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal public land manage7 ment decisions and actions should, to the maximum 

8 extent practicable, result in no net loss of land area 

9 available for hunting opportunities on Federal public 

10 land. 

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

12 1 of each year, each agency head with authority to 

13 manage Federal public land on which recreational 

14 hunting occurs shall submit to the Committee on 

15 Resources of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

17 Senate a report that describes— 

18 (A)(i) any Federal public land adminis19 tered by the agency head that was closed to rec20 reational hunting at any time during the pre21 ceding year; and 

22 (ii) the reason for the closure; and 

23 (B) areas administered by the agency head 

24 that were opened to recreational hunting to 


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1 compensate for the closure of the areas de2 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i). 

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

4 withdrawal, change of classification, or change of 

5 management status that effectively closes 5,000 or 

6 more acres of Federal public land to access or use 

7 for recreational hunting shall take effect only if, be8 fore the date of withdrawal or change, the agency 

9 head that has jurisdiction over the Federal public 

10 land submits to the Committee on Resources of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on En12 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate written 

13 notice of the withdrawal or change. 

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

15 compels the opening to recreational hunting of national 

16 parks or national monuments under the jurisdiction of the 

17 Secretary 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 (including regulations) on land or water in 

2 the State, including 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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