IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2406 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2016 

Received 

MARCH 1, 2016 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

AN ACT 

To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational 

hunting, fishing, and 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sportsmen’s Heritage 

3 and Recreational Enhancement Act’’ or the ‘‘SHARE 

4 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Report on economic impact. 

TITLE I—HUNTING, FISHING AND RECREATIONAL SHOOTING 

PROTECTION ACT 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Modification of definition. 

Sec. 103. Limitation on authority to regulate ammunition and fishing tackle. 

TITLE II—TARGET PRACTICE AND MARKSMANSHIP TRAINING 

SUPPORT ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Findings; purpose. 

Sec. 203. Definition of public target range. 

Sec. 204. Amendments to Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. 

Sec. 205. Limits on liability. 

Sec. 206. Sense of Congress regarding cooperation. 

TITLE III—POLAR BEAR CONSERVATION AND FAIRNESS ACT 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Permits for importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts 

in Canada. 

TITLE IV—RECREATIONAL LANDS SELF-DEFENSE ACT 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Protecting Americans from violent crime. 

TITLE V—WILDLIFE AND HUNTING HERITAGE CONSERVATION 

COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE 

Sec. 501. Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory Committee. 

TITLE VI—RECREATIONAL FISHING AND HUNTING HERITAGE 

OPPORTUNITIES ACT 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Findings. 

Sec. 603. Fishing, hunting, and recreational shooting. 

Sec. 604. Volunteer Hunters; Reports; Closures and Restrictions. 


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TITLE VII—FARMER AND HUNTER PROTECTION ACT 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Baiting of migratory game birds. 

TITLE VIII—TRANSPORTING BOWS ACROSS NATIONAL PARK 

SERVICE LANDS 

Sec. 801. Short title. 

Sec. 802. Bowhunting opportunity and wildlife stewardship. 

TITLE IX—FEDERAL LAND TRANSACTION FACILITATION ACT 

REAUTHORIZATION (FLTFA) 

Sec. 901. Short title. 

Sec. 902. Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act. 

TITLE X—AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION AND LEGAL 

IVORY POSSESSION ACT 

Sec. 1001. Short title. 

Sec. 1002. References. 

Sec. 1003. Limited exemption for certain African elephant ivory. 

Sec. 1004. Placement of United States Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officers in each African elephant range country. 

Sec. 1005. Certification for the purposes of the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 

1967. 

Sec. 1006. Treatment of elephant ivory. 

Sec. 1007. Sport-hunted elephant trophies. 

Sec. 1008. African Elephant Conservation Act financial assistance priority and 

reauthorization. 

Sec. 1009. Government Accountability Office study. 

TITLE XI—RESPECT FOR TREATIES AND RIGHTS 

Sec. 1101. Respect for Treaties and Rights. 

TITLE XII—PERMITS FOR FILM CREWS OF FIVE PEOPLE OR 

LESS 

Sec. 1201. Annual permit and fee for film crews of 5 persons or fewer. 

TITLE XIII—STATE APPROVAL OF FISHING RESTRICTION 

Sec. 1301. State or Territorial Approval of Restriction of Recreational or Commercial Fishing Access to Certain State or Territorial Waters. 

TITLE XIV—HUNTING AND RECREATIONAL FISHING WITHIN 

CERTAIN NATIONAL FORESTS 

Sec. 1401. Definitions. 

Sec. 1402. Hunting and recreational fishing within the national forest system. 

Sec. 1403. Publication of Closure of Roads in Forests. 

TITLE XV—GRAND CANYON BISON MANAGEMENT ACT 

Sec. 1501. Short title. 

Sec. 1502. Definitions. 

Sec. 1503. Bison management plan for Grand Canyon National Park. 


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TITLE XVI—OPEN BOOK ON EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE 

Sec. 1601. Short title. 

Sec. 1602. Modification of equal access to justice provisions. 

TITLE XVII—UTILITY TERRAIN VEHICLES 

Sec. 1701. Utility terrain vehicles in Kisatchie National Forest. 

TITLE XVIII—GOOD SAMARITAN SEARCH AND RECOVERY 

Sec. 1801. Short title. 

Sec. 1802. Expedited access to certain Federal land. 

TITLE XIX—INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF FIREARMS OR 

AMMUNITION 

Sec. 1901. Interstate transportation of firearms or ammunition. 

TITLE XX—GRAY WOLVES 

Sec. 2001. Reissuance of final rule regarding gray wolves in the Western Great 

Lakes. 

Sec. 2002. Reissuance of final rule regarding gray wolves in Wyoming. 

TITLE XXI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 2101. Prohibition on issuance of final rule. 

Sec. 2102. Withdrawal of existing rule regarding hunting and trapping in Alaska. 

1 SEC. 3. REPORT ON ECONOMIC IMPACT. 

2 Not later than 12 months after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Interior shall submit 

4 a report to Congress that assesses expected economic im5 pacts of the Act. Such report shall include— 

6 (1) a review of any expected increases in rec7 reational hunting, fishing, shooting, and conserva8 tion activities; 

9 (2) an estimate of any jobs created in each in10 dustry expected to support such activities described 

11 in paragraph (1), including in the supply, manufac12 turing, distribution, and retail sectors; 


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1 (3) an estimate of wages related to jobs de2 scribed in paragraph (2); and 

3 (4) an estimate of anticipated new local, State, 

4 and Federal revenue related to jobs described in 

5 paragraph (2). 

6 TITLE I—HUNTING, FISHING 

7 AND RECREATIONAL SHOOT8 ING PROTECTION ACT 

9 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Hunting, Fishing, and 

11 Recreational Shooting Protection Act’’. 

12 SEC. 102. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION. 

13 Section 3(2)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act 

14 (15 U.S.C. 2602(2)(B)) is amended— 

15 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘, or any component of any such article includ17 ing, without limitation, shot, bullets and other pro18 jectiles, propellants, and primers,’’; 

19 (2) in clause (vi) by striking the period at the 

20 end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

21 (3) by inserting after clause (vi) the following: 

22 ‘‘(vii) any sport fishing equipment (as such 

23 term is defined in subsection (a) of section 4162 of 

24 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) the sale of 

25 which is subject to the tax imposed by section 


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1 4161(a) of such Code (determined without regard to 

2 any exemptions from such tax as provided by section 

3 4162 or 4221 or any other provision of such Code), 

4 and sport fishing equipment components.’’. 

5 SEC. 103. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REGULATE AM6 MUNITION AND FISHING TACKLE. 

7 (a) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in section 

8 20.21 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect 

9 on the date of the enactment of this Act, or any substan10 tially similar successor regulation thereto, the Secretary 

11 of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and, except 

12 as provided by subsection (b), any bureau, service, or of13 fice of the Department of the Interior or the Department 

14 of Agriculture, may not regulate the use of ammunition 

15 cartridges, ammunition components, or fishing tackle 

16 based on the lead content thereof if such use is in compli17 ance with the law of the State in which the use occurs. 

18 (b) EXCEPTION.—The limitation in subsection (a) 

19 shall not apply to the United States Fish and Wildlife 

20 Service or the National Park Service. 


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1 TITLE II—TARGET PRACTICE 

2 AND MARKSMANSHIP TRAIN3 ING SUPPORT ACT 

4 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Target Practice and 

6 Marksmanship Training Support Act’’. 

7 SEC. 202. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

9 (1) the use of firearms and archery equipment 

10 for target practice and marksmanship training ac11 tivities on Federal land is allowed, except to the ex12 tent specific portions of that land have been closed 

13 to those activities; 

14 (2) in recent years preceding the date of enact15 ment of this Act, portions of Federal land have been 

16 closed to target practice and marksmanship training 

17 for many reasons; 

18 (3) the availability of public target ranges on 

19 non-Federal land has been declining for a variety of 

20 reasons, including continued population growth and 

21 development near former ranges; 

22 (4) providing opportunities for target practice 

23 and marksmanship training at public target ranges 

24 on Federal and non-Federal land can help— 


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1 (A) to promote enjoyment of shooting, rec2 reational, and hunting activities; and 

3 (B) to ensure safe and convenient locations 

4 for those activities; 

5 (5) Federal law in effect on the date of enact6 ment of this Act, including the Pittman-Robertson 

7 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.), 

8 provides Federal support for construction and ex9 pansion of public target ranges by making available 

10 to States amounts that may be used for construc11 tion, operation, and maintenance of public target 

12 ranges; and 

13 (6) it is in the public interest to provide in14 creased Federal support to facilitate the construction 

15 or expansion of public target ranges. 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to facili17 tate the construction and expansion of public target 

18 ranges, including ranges on Federal land managed by the 

19 Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. 

20 SEC. 203. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC TARGET RANGE. 

21 In this title, the term ‘‘public target range’’ means 

22 a specific location that— 

23 (1) is identified by a governmental agency for 

24 recreational shooting; 

25 (2) is open to the public; 


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1 (3) may be supervised; and 

2 (4) may accommodate archery or rifle, pistol, or 

3 shotgun shooting. 

4 SEC. 204. AMENDMENTS TO PITTMAN-ROBERTSON WILD5 LIFE RESTORATION ACT. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Pittman-Robert7 son Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669a) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

10 (8) as paragraphs (3) through (9), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘public target range’ means a 

14 specific location that— 

15 ‘‘(A) is identified by a governmental agen16 cy for recreational shooting; 

17 ‘‘(B) is open to the public; 

18 ‘‘(C) may be supervised; and 

19 ‘‘(D) may accommodate archery or rifle, 

20 pistol, or shotgun shooting;’’. 

21 (b) EXPENDITURES FOR MANAGEMENT OF WILD22 LIFE AREAS AND RESOURCES.—Section 8(b) of the Pitt23 man-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 669g(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) Each State’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(b) EXPENDITURES FOR MANAGEMENT OF WILD4 LIFE AREAS AND RESOURCES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), each State’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 

8 striking ‘‘construction, operation,’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘operation’’; 

10 (3) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

11 non-Federal share’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

13 share’’; 

14 (4) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec15 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary’’; and 

17 (5) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as des18 ignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the limita21 tion described in paragraph (1), a State may pay up 

22 to 90 percent of the cost of acquiring land for, ex23 panding, or constructing a public target range.’’. 

24 (c) FIREARM AND BOW HUNTER EDUCATION AND

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1 Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669h–1) 

2 is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— 

6 Of the amount apportioned to a State for any fiscal 

7 year under section 4(b), the State may elect to allo8 cate not more than 10 percent, to be combined with 

9 the amount apportioned to the State under para10 graph (1) for that fiscal year, for acquiring land for, 

11 expanding, or constructing a public target range.’’; 

12 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(b) COST SHARING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of any activ17 ity carried out using a grant under this section shall 

18 not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the activ19 ity. 

20 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC TARGET RANGE CONSTRUCTION OR

21 EXPANSION.—The Federal share of the cost of ac22 quiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public 

23 target range in a State on Federal or non-Federal 

24 land pursuant to this section or section 8(b) shall 


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1 not exceed 90 percent of the cost of the activity.’’; 

2 and 

3 (3) in subsection (c)(1)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘Amounts made’’ and in5 serting the following: 

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

7 subparagraph (B), amounts made’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Amounts provided for 

10 acquiring land for, constructing, or expanding a 

11 public target range shall remain available for 

12 expenditure and obligation during the 5-fiscal13 year period beginning on October 1 of the first 

14 fiscal year for which the amounts are made 

15 available.’’. 

16 SEC. 205. LIMITS ON LIABILITY. 

17 (a) DISCRETIONARY FUNCTION.—For purposes of 

18 chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (commonly 

19 referred to as the ‘‘Federal Tort Claims Act’’), any action 

20 by an agent or employee of the United States to manage 

21 or allow the use of Federal land for purposes of target 

22 practice or marksmanship training by a member of the 

23 public shall be considered to be the exercise or perform24 ance of a discretionary function. 


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1 (b) CIVIL ACTION OR CLAIMS.—Except to the extent 

2 provided in chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, 

3 the United States shall not be subject to any civil action 

4 or claim for money damages for any injury to or loss of 

5 property, personal injury, or death caused by an activity 

6 occurring at a public target range that is— 

7 (1) funded in whole or in part by the Federal 

8 Government pursuant to the Pittman-Robertson 

9 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.); or 

10 (2) located on Federal land. 

11 SEC. 206. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING COOPERATION. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that, consistent with appli13 cable laws and regulations, the Chief of the Forest Service 

14 and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management 

15 should cooperate with State and local authorities and 

16 other entities to carry out waste removal and other activi17 ties on any Federal land used as a public target range 

18 to encourage continued use of that land for target practice 

19 or marksmanship training. 

20 TITLE III—POLAR BEAR CON21 SERVATION AND FAIRNESS 

22 ACT 

23 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Polar Bear Conserva25 tion and Fairness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. PERMITS FOR IMPORTATION OF POLAR BEAR 

2 TROPHIES TAKEN IN SPORT HUNTS IN CAN3 ADA. 

4 Section 104(c)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protec5 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1374(c)(5)(D)) is amended 

6 to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(D)(i) The Secretary of the Interior shall, ex8 peditiously after the expiration of the applicable 30- 

9 day period under subsection (d)(2), issue a permit 

10 for the importation of any polar bear part (other 

11 than an internal organ) from a polar bear taken in 

12 a sport hunt in Canada to any person— 

13 ‘‘(I) who submits, with the permit applica14 tion, proof that the polar bear was legally har15 vested by the person before February 18, 1997; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(II) who has submitted, in support of a 

18 permit application submitted before May 15, 

19 2008, proof that the polar bear was legally har20 vested by the person before May 15, 2008, from 

21 a polar bear population from which a sport22 hunted trophy could be imported before that 

23 date in accordance with section 18.30(i) of title 

24 50, Code of Federal Regulations. 

25 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall issue permits under 

26 clause (i)(I) without regard to subparagraphs (A) 


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1 and (C)(ii) of this paragraph, subsection (d)(3), and 

2 sections 101 and 102. Sections 101(a)(3)(B) and 

3 102(b)(3) shall not apply to the importation of any 

4 polar bear part authorized by a permit issued under 

5 clause (i)(I). This clause shall not apply to polar 

6 bear parts that were imported before June 12, 1997. 

7 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall issue permits under 

8 clause (i)(II) without regard to subparagraph (C)(ii) 

9 of this paragraph or subsection (d)(3). Sections 

10 101(a)(3)(B) and 102(b)(3) shall not apply to the 

11 importation of any polar bear part authorized by a 

12 permit issued under clause (i)(II). This clause shall 

13 not apply to polar bear parts that were imported be14 fore the date of enactment of the Polar Bear Con15 servation and Fairness Act.’’. 

16 TITLE IV—RECREATIONAL 

17 LANDS SELF-DEFENSE ACT 

18 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Recreational Lands 

20 Self-Defense Act’’. 

21 SEC. 402. PROTECTING AMERICANS FROM VIOLENT CRIME. 

22 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

23 (1) The Second Amendment to the Constitution 

24 provides that ‘‘the right of the people to keep and 

25 bear Arms, shall not be infringed’’. 


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1 (2) Section 327.13 of title 36, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations, provides that, except in special cir3 cumstances, ‘‘possession of loaded firearms, ammu4 nition, loaded projectile firing devices, bows and ar5 rows, crossbows, or other weapons is prohibited’’ at 

6 water resources development projects administered 

7 by the Secretary of the Army. 

8 (3) The regulations described in paragraph (2) 

9 prevent individuals complying with Federal and 

10 State laws from exercising the second amendment 

11 rights of the individuals while at such water re12 sources development projects. 

13 (4) The Federal laws should make it clear that 

14 the second amendment rights of an individual at a 

15 water resources development project should not be 

16 infringed. 

17 (b) PROTECTING THE RIGHT OF INDIVIDUALS TO

18 BEAR ARMS AT WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

19 PROJECTS.—The Secretary of the Army shall not promul20 gate or enforce any regulation that prohibits an individual 

21 from possessing a firearm, including an assembled or func22 tional firearm, at a water resources development project 

23 covered under section 327.0 of title 36, Code of Federal 

24 Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 

25 Act), if— 


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1 (1) the individual is not otherwise prohibited by 

2 law from possessing the firearm; and 

3 (2) the possession of the firearm is in compli4 ance with the law of the State in which the water 

5 resources development project is located. 

6 TITLE V—WILDLIFE AND HUNT7 ING HERITAGE CONSERVA8 TION COUNCIL ADVISORY 

9 COMMITTEE 

10 SEC. 501. WILDLIFE AND HUNTING HERITAGE CONSERVA11 TION COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

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

13 661 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 10. WILDLIFE AND HUNTING HERITAGE CONSERVA16 TION COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

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

18 the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council 

19 Advisory Committee (in this section referred to as the ‘Ad20 visory Committee’) to advise the Secretaries of the Interior 

21 and Agriculture on wildlife and habitat conservation, 

22 hunting, and recreational shooting. 

23 ‘‘(b) CONTINUANCE AND ABOLISHMENT OF EXIST24 ING WILDLIFE AND HUNTING HERITAGE CONSERVATION

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1 tion Council established pursuant to section 441 of the 

2 Revised Statutes (43 U.S.C. 1457), section 2 of the Fish 

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

4 applicable to specific bureaus of the Department of the 

5 Interior— 

6 ‘‘(1) shall continue until the date of the first 

7 meeting of the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Con8 servation Council established by the amendment 

9 made by subsection (a); and 

10 ‘‘(2) is hereby abolished effective on that date. 

11 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

12 Advisory Committee shall advise the Secretaries with re13 gard to— 

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

15 13443: Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wild16 life Conservation, which directs Federal agencies ‘to 

17 facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting 

18 opportunities and the management of game species 

19 and their habitat’; 

20 ‘‘(2) policies or programs to conserve and re21 store wetlands, agricultural lands, grasslands, forest, 

22 and rangeland habitats; 

23 ‘‘(3) policies or programs to promote opportuni24 ties and access to hunting and shooting sports on 

25 Federal lands; 


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

2 new hunters and shooters; 

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

4 awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation 

5 and the social and economic benefits of recreational 

6 hunting and shooting; and 

7 ‘‘(6) policies or programs that encourage co8 ordination among the public, the hunting and shoot9 ing sports community, wildlife conservation groups, 

10 and States, tribes, and the Federal Government. 

11 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

12 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com14 mittee shall consist of no more than 16 discre15 tionary members and 8 ex officio members. 

16 ‘‘(B) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The ex offi17 cio members are— 

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

19 Fish and Wildlife Service or a designated 

20 representative of the Director; 

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

22 Land Management or a designated rep23 resentative of the Director; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the Director of the National 

2 Park Service or a designated representa3 tive of the Director; 

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

5 or a designated representative of the Chief; 

6 ‘‘(v) the Chief of the Natural Re7 sources Conservation Service or a des8 ignated representative of the Chief; 

9 ‘‘(vi) the Administrator of the Farm 

10 Service Agency or a designated representa11 tive of the Administrator; 

12 ‘‘(vii) the Executive Director of the 

13 Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(viii) the Administrator of the Small 

16 Business Administration or designated rep17 resentative. 

18 ‘‘(C) DISCRETIONARY MEMBERS.—The dis19 cretionary members shall be appointed jointly 

20 by the Secretaries from at least one of each of 

21 the following: 

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

23 ‘‘(ii) Game bird hunting organiza24 tions. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Wildlife conservation organiza2 tions. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Big game hunting organizations. 

4 ‘‘(v) Waterfowl hunting organizations. 

5 ‘‘(vi) The tourism, outfitter, or guid6 ing industry. 

7 ‘‘(vii) The firearms or ammunition 

8 manufacturing industry. 

9 ‘‘(viii) The hunting or shooting equip10 ment retail industry. 

11 ‘‘(ix) Tribal resource management or12 ganizations. 

13 ‘‘(x) The agriculture industry. 

14 ‘‘(xi) The ranching industry. 

15 ‘‘(xii) Women’s hunting and fishing 

16 advocacy, outreach, or education organiza17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(xiii) Minority hunting and fishing 

19 advocacy, outreach, or education organiza20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(xiv) Veterans service organization. 

22 ‘‘(D) ELIGIBILITY.—Prior to the appoint23 ment of the discretionary members, the Secre24 taries shall determine that all individuals nomi25 nated for appointment to the Advisory ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Mar 01, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2406.RFS H2406

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1 mittee, and the organization each individual 

2 represents, actively support and promote sus3 tainable-use hunting, wildlife conservation, and 

4 recreational shooting. 

5 ‘‘(2) TERMS.— 

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

7 subparagraph (B), members of the Advisory 

8 Committee shall be appointed for a term of 4 

9 years. Members shall not be appointed for more 

10 than 3 consecutive or nonconsecutive terms. 

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

12 designated by the Secretary at the time of ap13 pointment, of the members first appointed— 

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

15 a term of 4 years; 

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

17 a term of 3 years; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) 5 members shall be appointed 

19 for a term of 2 years. 

20 ‘‘(3) PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC ADVISORY STA21 TUS.—No individual may be appointed as a discre22 tionary member of the Advisory Committee while 

23 serving as an officer or employee of the Federal 

24 Government. 

25 ‘‘(4) VACANCY AND REMOVAL.— 


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

2 Advisory Committee shall be filled in the man3 ner in which the original appointment was 

4 made. 

5 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL.—Advisory Committee 

6 members shall serve at the discretion of the 

7 Secretaries and may be removed at any time for 

8 good cause. 

9 ‘‘(5) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—Each ap10 pointed member may continue to serve after the ex11 piration of the term of office to which such member 

12 was appointed until a successor has been appointed. 

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

14 Advisory Committee shall be appointed for a 3-year 

15 term by the Secretaries, jointly, from among the 

16 members of the Advisory Committee. An individual 

17 may not be appointed as Chairperson for more than 

18 2 consecutive or nonconsecutive terms. 

19 ‘‘(7) PAY AND EXPENSES.—Members of the Ad20 visory Committee shall serve without pay for such 

21 service, but each member of the Advisory Committee 

22 may be reimbursed for travel and lodging incurred 

23 through attending meetings of the Advisory Com24 mittee approved subgroup meetings in the same 

25 amounts and under the same conditions as Federal 


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1 employees (in accordance with section 5703 of title 

2 5, United States Code). 

3 ‘‘(8) MEETINGS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com5 mittee shall meet at the call of the Secretaries, 

6 the chairperson, or a majority of the members, 

7 but not less frequently than twice annually. 

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

9 the Advisory Committee shall be open to the 

10 public. 

11 ‘‘(C) PRIOR NOTICE OF MEETINGS.—Time12 ly notice of each meeting of the Advisory Com13 mittee shall be published in the Federal Reg14 ister and be submitted to trade publications and 

15 publications of general circulation. 

16 ‘‘(D) SUBGROUPS.—The Advisory Com17 mittee may establish such workgroups or sub18 groups as it deems necessary for the purpose of 

19 compiling information or conducting research. 

20 However, such workgroups may not conduct 

21 business without the direction of the Advisory 

22 Committee and must report in full to the Advi23 sory Committee. 

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

25 Committee shall constitute a quorum. 


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1 ‘‘(e) EXPENSES.—The expenses of the Advisory Com2 mittee that the Secretaries determine to be reasonable and 

3 appropriate shall be paid by the Secretaries. 

4 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, TECHNICAL SERV5 ICES, AND ADVICE.—A designated Federal Officer shall 

6 be jointly appointed by the Secretaries to provide to the 

7 Advisory Committee the administrative support, technical 

8 services, and advice that the Secretaries determine to be 

9 reasonable and appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

12 of each year, the Advisory Committee shall submit 

13 a report to the Secretaries, the Committee on Nat14 ural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of 

15 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

16 Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee 

17 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen18 ate. If circumstances arise in which the Advisory 

19 Committee cannot meet the September 30 deadline 

20 in any year, the Secretaries shall advise the Chair21 persons of each such Committee of the reasons for 

22 such delay and the date on which the submission of 

23 the report is anticipated. 

24 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para25 graph (1) shall describe— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the activities of the Advisory Com2 mittee during the preceding year; 

3 ‘‘(B) the reports and recommendations 

4 made by the Advisory Committee to the Secre5 taries during the preceding year; and 

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

7 Secretaries as a result of the recommendations. 

8 ‘‘(h) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

9 Advisory Committee shall be exempt from the Federal Ad10 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).’’. 

11 TITLE VI—RECREATIONAL FISH12 ING AND HUNTING HERITAGE 

13 OPPORTUNITIES ACT 

14 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Recreational Fishing 

16 and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act’’. 

17 SEC. 602. FINDINGS. 

18 Congress finds that— 

19 (1) recreational fishing and hunting are impor20 tant and traditional activities in which millions of 

21 Americans participate; 

22 (2) recreational anglers and hunters have been 

23 and continue to be among the foremost supporters 

24 of sound fish and wildlife management and conserva25 tion in the United States; 


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1 (3) recreational fishing and hunting are envi2 ronmentally acceptable and beneficial activities that 

3 occur and can be provided on Federal lands and 

4 waters without adverse effects on other uses or 

5 users; 

6 (4) recreational anglers, hunters, and sporting 

7 organizations provide direct assistance to fish and 

8 wildlife managers and enforcement officers of the 

9 Federal Government as well as State and local gov10 ernments by investing volunteer time and effort to 

11 fish and wildlife conservation; 

12 (5) recreational anglers, hunters, and the asso13 ciated industries have generated billions of dollars of 

14 critical funding for fish and wildlife conservation, re15 search, and management by providing revenues from 

16 purchases of fishing and hunting licenses, permits, 

17 and stamps, as well as excise taxes on fishing, hunt18 ing, and recreational shooting equipment that have 

19 generated billions of dollars of critical funding for 

20 fish and wildlife conservation, research, and manage21 ment; 

22 (6) recreational shooting is also an important 

23 and traditional activity in which millions of Ameri24 cans participate; 


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1 (7) safe recreational shooting is a valid use of 

2 Federal lands, including the establishment of safe 

3 and convenient recreational shooting ranges on such 

4 lands, and participation in recreational shooting 

5 helps recruit and retain hunters and contributes to 

6 wildlife conservation; 

7 (8) opportunities to recreationally fish, hunt, 

8 and shoot are declining, which depresses participa9 tion in these traditional activities, and depressed 

10 participation adversely impacts fish and wildlife con11 servation and funding for important conservation ef12 forts; and 

13 (9) the public interest would be served, and our 

14 citizens’ fish and wildlife resources benefitted, by ac15 tion to ensure that opportunities are facilitated to 

16 engage in fishing and hunting on Federal land as 

17 recognized by Executive Order No. 12962, relating 

18 to recreational fisheries, and Executive Order No. 

19 13443, relating to facilitation of hunting heritage 

20 and wildlife conservation. 

21 SEC. 603. FISHING, HUNTING, AND RECREATIONAL SHOOT22 ING. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

25 means any land or water that is owned by the 


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1 United States and under the administrative jurisdic2 tion of the Bureau of Land Management or the For3 est Service. 

4 (2) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT OFFI5 CIALS.—The term ‘‘Federal land management offi6 cials’’ means— 

7 (A) the Secretary of the Interior and Di8 rector of the Bureau of Land Management re9 garding Bureau of Land Management lands 

10 and interests in lands under the administrative 

11 jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Manage12 ment; and 

13 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture and Chief 

14 of the Forest Service regarding National Forest 

15 System lands. 

16 (3) HUNTING.— 

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

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

19 use of a firearm, bow, or other authorized 

20 means in the lawful— 

21 (i) pursuit, shooting, capture, collec22 tion, trapping, or killing of wildlife; 

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

24 collect, trap, or kill wildlife; or 


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1 (iii) the training of hunting dogs, in2 cluding field trials. 

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

4 does not include the use of skilled volunteers to 

5 cull excess animals (as defined by other Federal 

6 law). 

7 (4) RECREATIONAL FISHING.—The term ‘‘rec8 reational fishing’’ means the lawful— 

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

10 of fish; or 

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

12 (5) RECREATIONAL SHOOTING.—The term 

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

14 training, competition, or pastime, whether formal or 

15 informal, that involves the discharge of a rifle, hand16 gun, or shotgun, or the use of a bow and arrow. 

17 (b) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights 

18 and subsection (e), and cooperation with the respective 

19 State fish and wildlife agency, Federal land management 

20 officials shall exercise authority under existing law, includ21 ing provisions regarding land use planning, to facilitate 

22 use of and access to Federal lands, including National 

23 Monuments, Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, 

24 and lands administratively classified as wilderness eligible 

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1 ing, hunting, and recreational shooting, except as limited 

2 by— 

3 (1) statutory authority that authorizes action or 

4 withholding action for reasons of national security, 

5 public safety, or resource conservation; 

6 (2) any other Federal statute that specifically 

7 precludes fishing, hunting, or recreational shooting 

8 on specific Federal lands, waters, or units thereof; 

9 and 

10 (3) discretionary limitations on fishing, hunt11 ing, and recreational shooting determined to be nec12 essary and reasonable as supported by the best sci13 entific evidence and advanced through a transparent 

14 public process. 

15 (c) MANAGEMENT.—Consistent with subsection (a), 

16 Federal land management officials shall exercise their land 

17 management discretion— 

18 (1) in a manner that supports and facilitates 

19 fishing, hunting, and recreational shooting opportu20 nities; 

21 (2) to the extent authorized under applicable 

22 State law; and 

23 (3) in accordance with applicable Federal law. 

24 (d) PLANNING.— 


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1 (1) EVALUATION OF EFFECTS ON OPPORTUNI2 TIES TO ENGAGE IN FISHING, HUNTING, OR REC3 REATIONAL SHOOTING.—Planning documents that 

4 apply to Federal lands, including land resources 

5 management plans, resource management plans, 

6 travel management plans, and general management 

7 plans shall include a specific evaluation of the effects 

8 of such plans on opportunities to engage in fishing, 

9 hunting, or recreational shooting. 

10 (2) STRATEGIC GROWTH POLICY FOR THE NA11 TIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.—Section 

12 4(a)(3) of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad13 ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)(3)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

16 and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec17 tively; and 

18 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B), 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) the Secretary shall integrate wildlife-de21 pendent recreational uses in accordance with their 

22 status as priority general public uses into proposed 

23 or existing regulations, policies, criteria, plans, or 

24 other activities to alter or amend the manner in 

25 which individual refuges or the National Wildlife 


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1 Refuge System (System) are managed, including, 

2 but not limited to, any activities which target or 

3 prioritize criteria for long and short term System ac4 quisitions;’’. 

5 (3) NO MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.—No action 

6 taken under this title, or under section 4 of the Na7 tional Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 

8 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd), either individually or cu9 mulatively with other actions involving Federal lands 

10 or lands managed by the United States Fish and 

11 Wildlife Service, shall be considered to be a major 

12 Federal action significantly affecting the quality of 

13 the human environment, and no additional identi14 fication, analysis, or consideration of environmental 

15 effects, including cumulative effects, is necessary or 

16 required. 

17 (4) OTHER ACTIVITY NOT CONSIDERED.—Fed18 eral land management officials are not required to 

19 consider the existence or availability of fishing, hunt20 ing, or recreational shooting opportunities on adja21 cent or nearby public or private lands in the plan22 ning for or determination of which Federal lands are 

23 open for these activities or in the setting of levels of 

24 use for these activities on Federal lands, unless the 

25 combination or coordination of such opportunities 


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1 would enhance the fishing, hunting, or recreational 

2 shooting opportunities available to the public. 

3 (e) FEDERAL LANDS.— 

4 (1) LANDS OPEN.—Lands under the jurisdic5 tion of the Bureau of Land Management and the 

6 Forest Service, including Wilderness Areas, Wilder7 ness Study Areas, lands designated as wilderness or 

8 administratively classified as wilderness eligible or 

9 suitable and primitive or semi-primitive areas and 

10 National Monuments, but excluding lands on the 

11 Outer Continental Shelf, shall be open to fishing, 

12 hunting, and recreational shooting unless the man13 aging Federal agency acts to close lands to such ac14 tivity. Lands may be subject to closures or restric15 tions if determined by the head of the agency to be 

16 necessary and reasonable and supported by facts 

17 and evidence, for purposes including resource con18 servation, public safety, energy or mineral produc19 tion, energy generation or transmission infrastruc20 ture, water supply facilities, protection of other per21 mittees, protection of private property rights or in22 terest, national security, or compliance with other 

23 law. 

24 (2) RECREATIONAL SHOOTING RANGES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Fed2 eral agency shall use his or her authorities in 

3 a manner consistent with this Act and other ap4 plicable law, to— 

5 (i) lease or permit use of lands under 

6 the jurisdiction of the agency for rec7 reational shooting ranges; and 

8 (ii) designate specific lands under the 

9 jurisdiction of the agency for recreational 

10 shooting activities. 

11 (B) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Any des12 ignation under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not 

13 subject the United States to any civil action or 

14 claim for monetary damages for injury or loss 

15 of property or personal injury or death caused 

16 by any activity occurring at or on such des17 ignated lands. 

18 (f) NECESSITY IN WILDERNESS AREAS AND ‘‘WITH19 IN AND SUPPLEMENTAL TO’’ WILDERNESS PURPOSES.— 

20 (1) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMINIS21 TRATION.—The provision of opportunities for fish22 ing, hunting, and recreational shooting, and the con23 servation of fish and wildlife to provide sustainable 

24 use recreational opportunities on designated Federal 

25 wilderness areas shall constitute measures necessary 


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1 to meet the minimum requirements for the adminis2 tration of the wilderness area, provided that this de3 termination shall not authorize or facilitate com4 modity development, use, or extraction, motorized 

5 recreational access or use that is not otherwise al6 lowed under the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

7 seq.), or permanent road construction or mainte8 nance within designated wilderness areas. 

9 (2) APPLICATION OF WILDERNESS ACT.—Provi10 sions of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

11 seq.), stipulating that wilderness purposes are ‘‘with12 in and supplemental to’’ the purposes of the under13 lying Federal land unit are reaffirmed. When seek14 ing to carry out fish and wildlife conservation pro15 grams and projects or provide fish and wildlife de16 pendent recreation opportunities on designated wil17 derness areas, each Federal land management offi18 cial shall implement these supplemental purposes so 

19 as to facilitate, enhance, or both, but not to impede 

20 the underlying Federal land purposes when seeking 

21 to carry out fish and wildlife conservation programs 

22 and projects or provide fish and wildlife dependent 

23 recreation opportunities in designated wilderness 

24 areas, provided that such implementation shall not 

25 authorize or facilitate commodity development, use 


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1 or extraction, or permanent road construction or 

2 maintenance within designated wilderness areas. 

3 (g) NO PRIORITY.—Nothing in this section requires 

4 a Federal land management official to give preference to 

5 fishing, hunting, or recreational shooting over other uses 

6 of Federal land or over land or water management prior7 ities established by Federal law. 

8 (h) CONSULTATION WITH COUNCILS.—In fulfilling 

9 the duties under this section, Federal land management 

10 officials shall consult with respective advisory councils as 

11 established in Executive Order Nos. 12962 and 13443. 

12 (i) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.—Nothing in this 

13 section shall be construed as interfering with, diminishing, 

14 or conflicting with the authority, jurisdiction, or responsi15 bility of any State to exercise primary management, con16 trol, or regulation of fish and wildlife under State law (in17 cluding regulations) on land or water within the State, in18 cluding on Federal land. 

19 (j) FEDERAL LICENSES.—Nothing in this section 

20 shall be construed to authorize a Federal land manage21 ment official to require a license, fee, or permit to fish, 

22 hunt, or trap on land or water in a State, including on 

23 Federal land in the States, except that this subsection 

24 shall not affect the Migratory Bird Stamp requirement set 


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1 forth in the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation 

2 Stamp Act (16 U.S.C. 718 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 604. VOLUNTEER HUNTERS; REPORTS; CLOSURES AND 

4 RESTRICTIONS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

6 (1) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

7 means— 

8 (A) units of the National Park System; 

9 (B) National Forest System lands; and 

10 (C) land and interests in land owned by 

11 the United States and under the administrative 

12 jurisdiction of— 

13 (i) the Fish and Wildlife Service; or 

14 (ii) the Bureau of Land Management. 

15 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

16 means— 

17 (A) the Secretary of the Interior and in18 cludes the Director of the National Park Serv19 ice, with regard to units of the National Park 

20 System; 

21 (B) the Secretary of the Interior and in22 cludes the Director of the Fish and Wildlife 

23 Service, with regard to Fish and Wildlife Serv24 ice lands and waters; 


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1 (C) the Secretary of the Interior and in2 cludes the Director of the Bureau of Land 

3 Management, with regard to Bureau of Land 

4 Management lands and waters; and 

5 (D) the Secretary of Agriculture and in6 cludes the Chief of the Forest Service, with re7 gard to National Forest System lands. 

8 (3) VOLUNTEER FROM THE HUNTING COMMU9 NITY.—The term ‘‘volunteer from the hunting com10 munity’’ means a volunteer who holds a valid hunt11 ing license issued by a State. 

12 (b) VOLUNTEER HUNTERS.—When planning wildlife 

13 management involving reducing the size of a wildlife popu14 lation on public land, the Secretary shall consider the use 

15 of and may use volunteers from the hunting community 

16 as agents to assist in carrying out wildlife management 

17 on public land. The Secretary shall not reject the use of 

18 volunteers from the hunting community as agents without 

19 the concurrence of the appropriate State wildlife manage20 ment authorities. 

21 (c) REPORT.—Beginning on the second October 1 

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

23 on October 1 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the 

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1 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

2 Resources of the Senate a report that describes— 

3 (1) any public land administered by the Sec4 retary that was closed to fishing, hunting, and rec5 reational shooting at any time during the preceding 

6 year; and 

7 (2) the reason for the closure. 

8 (d) CLOSURES OR SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Other than closures estab10 lished or prescribed by land planning actions re11 ferred to in section 604(e) or emergency closures de12 scribed in paragraph (2), a permanent or temporary 

13 withdrawal, change of classification, or change of 

14 management status of public land that effectively 

15 closes or significantly restricts any acreage of public 

16 land to access or use for fishing, hunting, rec17 reational shooting, or activities related to fishing, 

18 hunting, or recreational shooting, or a combination 

19 of those activities, shall take effect only if, before the 

20 date of withdrawal or change, the Secretary— 

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) EMERGENCY CLOSURES.—Nothing in this 

7 Act prohibits the Secretary from establishing or im8 plementing emergency closures or restrictions of the 

9 smallest practicable area to provide for public safety, 

10 resource conservation, national security, or other 

11 purposes authorized by law. Such an emergency clo12 sure shall terminate after a reasonable period of 

13 time unless converted to a permanent closure con14 sistent with this Act. 

15 TITLE VII—FARMER AND 

16 HUNTER PROTECTION ACT 

17 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Hunter and Farmer 

19 Protection Act’’. 

20 SEC. 702. BAITING OF MIGRATORY GAME BIRDS. 

21 Section 3 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 

22 U.S.C. 704) is amended by striking subsection (b) and in23 serting the following: 

24 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF BAITING.— 

25 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) BAITED AREA.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘baited 

3 area’ means— 

4 ‘‘(I) any area on which salt, 

5 grain, or other feed has been placed, 

6 exposed, deposited, distributed, or 

7 scattered, if the salt, grain, or feed 

8 could lure or attract migratory game 

9 birds; and 

10 ‘‘(II) in the case of waterfowl, 

11 cranes (family Gruidae), and coots 

12 (family Rallidae), a standing, unhar13 vested crop that has been manipulated 

14 through activities such as mowing, 

15 discing, or rolling, unless the activities 

16 are normal agricultural practices. 

17 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSIONS.—An area shall not 

18 be considered to be a ‘baited area’ if the 

19 area— 

20 ‘‘(I) has been treated with a nor21 mal agricultural practice; 

22 ‘‘(II) has standing crops that 

23 have not been manipulated; or 

24 ‘‘(III) has standing crops that 

25 have been or are flooded. 


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1 ‘‘(B) BAITING.—The term ‘baiting’ means 

2 the direct or indirect placing, exposing, depos3 iting, distributing, or scattering of salt, grain, 

4 or other feed that could lure or attract migra5 tory game birds to, on, or over any areas on 

6 which a hunter is attempting to take migratory 

7 game birds. 

8 ‘‘(C) MIGRATORY GAME BIRD.—The term 

9 ‘migratory game bird’ means migratory bird 

10 species— 

11 ‘‘(i) that are within the taxonomic 

12 families of Anatidae, Columbidae, Gruidae, 

13 Rallidae, and Scolopacidae; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) for which open seasons are pre15 scribed by the Secretary of the Interior. 

16 ‘‘(D) NORMAL AGRICULTURAL PRAC17 TICE.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘normal 

19 agricultural practice’ means any practice in 

20 1 annual growing season that— 

21 ‘‘(I) is carried out in order to 

22 produce a marketable crop, including 

23 planting, harvest, postharvest, or soil 

24 conservation practices; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) is recommended for the 

2 successful harvest of a given crop by 

3 the applicable State office of the Co4 operative Extension System of the De5 partment of Agriculture, in consulta6 tion with, and if requested, the con7 currence of, the head of the applicable 

8 State department of fish and wildlife. 

9 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

11 subclause (II), the term ‘normal agri12 cultural practice’ includes the destruc13 tion of a crop in accordance with 

14 practices required by the Federal 

15 Crop Insurance Corporation for agri16 cultural producers to obtain crop in17 surance under the Federal Crop In18 surance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) 

19 on land on which a crop during the 

20 current or immediately preceding crop 

21 year was not harvestable due to a nat22 ural disaster (including any hurricane, 

23 storm, tornado, flood, high water, 

24 wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsu25 nami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, 


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1 landslide, mudslide, drought, fire, 

2 snowstorm, or other catastrophe that 

3 is declared a major disaster by the 

4 President in accordance with section 

5 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis6 aster Relief and Emergency Assist7 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170)). 

8 ‘‘(II) LIMITATIONS.—The term 

9 ‘normal agricultural practice’ only in10 cludes a crop described in subclause 

11 (I) that has been destroyed or manip12 ulated through activities that include 

13 (but are not limited to) mowing, 

14 discing, or rolling if the Federal Crop 

15 Insurance Corporation certifies that 

16 flooding was not an acceptable method 

17 of destruction to obtain crop insur18 ance under the Federal Crop Insur19 ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). 

20 ‘‘(E) WATERFOWL.—The term ‘waterfowl’ 

21 means native species of the family Anatidae. 

22 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for 

23 any person— 

24 ‘‘(A) to take any migratory game bird by 

25 baiting or on or over any baited area, if the 


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1 person knows or reasonably should know that 

2 the area is a baited area; or 

3 ‘‘(B) to place or direct the placement of 

4 bait on or adjacent to an area for the purpose 

5 of causing, inducing, or allowing any person to 

6 take or attempt to take any migratory game 

7 bird by baiting or on or over the baited area. 

8 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the In9 terior may promulgate regulations to implement this 

10 subsection. 

11 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—Annually, the Secretary of Ag12 riculture shall submit to the Secretary of the Inte13 rior a report that describes any changes to normal 

14 agricultural practices across the range of crops 

15 grown by agricultural producers in each region of 

16 the United States in which the recommendations are 

17 provided to agricultural producers.’’. 

18 TITLE VIII—TRANSPORTING 

19 BOWS ACROSS NATIONAL 

20 PARK SERVICE LANDS 

21 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Hunter Access Cor23 ridors Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 802. BOWHUNTING OPPORTUNITY AND WILDLIFE 

2 STEWARDSHIP. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 1015 of 

4 title 54, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 101513. Hunter access corridors 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) NOT READY FOR IMMEDIATE USE.—The 

9 term ‘not ready for immediate use’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) a bow or crossbow, the arrows of 

11 which are secured or stowed in a quiver or 

12 other arrow transport case; and 

13 ‘‘(B) with respect to a crossbow, uncocked. 

14 ‘‘(2) VALID HUNTING LICENSE.—The term 

15 ‘valid hunting license’ means a State-issued hunting 

16 license that authorizes an individual to hunt on pri17 vate or public land adjacent to the System unit in 

18 which the individual is located while in possession of 

19 a bow or crossbow that is not ready for immediate 

20 use. 

21 ‘‘(b) TRANSPORTATION AUTHORIZED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall not re23 quire a permit for, or promulgate or enforce any 

24 regulation that prohibits an individual from trans25 porting bows and crossbows that are not ready for 

26 immediate use across any System unit if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual traversing 

2 the System unit on foot— 

3 ‘‘(i) the individual is not otherwise 

4 prohibited by law from possessing the bows 

5 and crossbows; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the bows or crossbows are not 

7 ready for immediate use throughout the 

8 period during which the bows or crossbows 

9 are transported across the System unit; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the possession of the bows and 

11 crossbows is in compliance with the law of 

12 the State in which the System unit is lo13 cated; and 

14 ‘‘(iv)(I) the individual possesses a 

15 valid hunting license; 

16 ‘‘(II) the individual is traversing the 

17 System unit en route to a hunting access 

18 corridor established under subsection 

19 (c)(1); or 

20 ‘‘(III) the individual is traversing the 

21 System unit in compliance with any other 

22 applicable regulations or policies; or 

23 ‘‘(B) the bows or crossbows are not ready 

24 for immediate use and remain inside a vehicle. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—Nothing in this sub2 section limits the authority of the Director to en3 force laws (including regulations) prohibiting hunt4 ing or the taking of wildlife in any System unit. 

5 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF HUNTER ACCESS COR6 RIDORS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On a determination by the 

8 Director under paragraph (2), the Director may es9 tablish and publish (in accordance with section 1.5 

10 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or a suc11 cessor regulation)), on a publicly available map, hun12 ter access corridors across System units that are 

13 used to access public land that is— 

14 ‘‘(A) contiguous to a System unit; and 

15 ‘‘(B) open to hunting. 

16 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION BY DIRECTOR.—The de17 termination referred to in paragraph (1) is a deter18 mination that the hunter access corridor would pro19 vide wildlife management or visitor experience bene20 fits within the boundary of the System unit in which 

21 the hunter access corridor is located. 

22 ‘‘(3) HUNTING SEASON.—The hunter access 

23 corridors shall be open for use during hunting sea24 sons. 


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1 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION.—The Director may establish 

2 limited periods during which access through the 

3 hunter access corridors is closed for reasons of pub4 lic safety, administration, or compliance with appli5 cable law. Such closures shall be clearly marked with 

6 signs and dates of closures, and shall not include 

7 gates, chains, walls, or other barriers on the hunter 

8 access corridor. 

9 ‘‘(5) IDENTIFICATION OF CORRIDORS.—The Di10 rector shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) make information regarding hunter 

12 access corridors available on the individual 

13 website of the applicable System unit; and 

14 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding any 

15 processes established by the Director for trans16 porting legally taken game through individual 

17 hunter access corridors. 

18 ‘‘(6) REGISTRATION; TRANSPORTATION OF

19 GAME.—The Director may— 

20 ‘‘(A) provide registration boxes to be lo21 cated at the trailhead of each hunter access cor22 ridor for self-registration; 

23 ‘‘(B) provide a process for online self-reg24 istration; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) allow nonmotorized conveyances to 

2 transport legally taken game through a hunter 

3 access corridor established under this sub4 section, including game carts and sleds. 

5 ‘‘(7) CONSULTATION WITH STATES.—The Di6 rector shall consult with each applicable State wild7 life agency to identify appropriate hunter access cor8 ridors. 

9 ‘‘(d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) diminishes, enlarges, or modifies any Fed11 eral or State authority with respect to recreational 

12 hunting, recreational shooting, or any other rec13 reational activities within the boundaries of a Sys14 tem unit; or 

15 ‘‘(2) authorizes— 

16 ‘‘(A) the establishment of new trails in 

17 System units; or 

18 ‘‘(B) authorizes individuals to access areas 

19 in System units, on foot or otherwise, that are 

20 not open to such access. 

21 ‘‘(e) NO MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any action taken under 

23 this section shall not be considered a major Federal 

24 action significantly affecting the quality of the 


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1 human environment under the National Environ2 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(2) NO ADDITIONAL ACTION REQUIRED.—No 

4 additional identification, analyses, or consideration 

5 of environmental effects (including cumulative envi6 ronmental effects) is necessary or required with re7 spect to an action taken under this section.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

9 for title 54, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

10 after the item relating to section 101512 the following: 

‘‘101513. Hunter access corridors.’’. 

11 TITLE IX—FEDERAL LAND 

12 TRANSACTION FACILITATION 

13 ACT REAUTHORIZATION 

14 (FLTFA) 

15 SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Land Trans17 action Facilitation Act Reauthorization’’. 

18 SEC. 902. FEDERAL LAND TRANSACTION FACILITATION 

19 ACT. 

20 The Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in section 203(1) (43 U.S.C. 2302(1)), by 

23 striking ‘‘cultural, or’’ and inserting ‘‘cultural, rec24 reational access and use, or other’’; 


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1 (2) in section 203(2) in the matter preceding 

2 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘on the date of enact3 ment of this Act was’’ and inserting ‘‘is’’; 

4 (3) in section 205 (43 U.S.C. 2304)— 

5 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘section 

6 206’’ and all that follows through the period 

7 and inserting the following: ‘‘section 206— 

8 ‘‘(1) to complete appraisals and satisfy other 

9 legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public 

10 land identified for disposal under approved land use 

11 plans under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy 

12 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712); 

13 ‘‘(2) not later than 180 days after the date of 

14 the enactment of the Federal Land Transaction Fa15 cilitation Act Reauthorization, to establish and make 

16 available to the public, on the website of the Depart17 ment of the Interior, a database containing a com18 prehensive list of all the land referred to in para19 graph (1); and 

20 ‘‘(3) to maintain the database referred to in 

21 paragraph (2).’’; and 

22 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘11’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘22’’; 

24 (4) by amending section 206(c)(1) (43 U.S.C. 

25 2305(c)(1)) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) USE OF FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funds in the Federal 

3 Land Disposal Account shall be expended, sub4 ject to appropriation, in accordance with this 

5 subsection. 

6 ‘‘(B) PURPOSES.—Except as authorized 

7 under paragraph (2), funds in the Federal 

8 Land Disposal Account shall be used for one or 

9 more of the following purposes: 

10 ‘‘(i) To purchase lands or interests 

11 therein that are otherwise authorized by 

12 law to be acquired and are one or more of 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(I) Inholdings. 

15 ‘‘(II) Adjacent to federally des16 ignated areas and contain exceptional 

17 resources. 

18 ‘‘(III) Provide opportunities for 

19 hunting, recreational fishing, rec20 reational shooting, and other rec21 reational activities. 

22 ‘‘(IV) Likely to aid in the per23 formance of deferred maintenance or 

24 the reduction of operation and main25 tenance costs or other deferred costs. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) To perform deferred mainte2 nance or other maintenance activities that 

3 enhance opportunities for recreational ac4 cess.’’; 

5 (5) in section 206(c)(2) (43 U.S.C. 

6 2305(c)(2))— 

7 (A) by striking subparagraph (A); 

8 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), 

9 (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

10 (C), respectively; 

11 (C) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesig12 nated by this paragraph)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘PURCHASES’’ and in14 serting ‘‘LAND PURCHASES AND PERFORM15 ANCE OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AC16 TIVITIES’’; 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’; and 

19 (iii) by inserting ‘‘for the activities 

20 outlined in paragraph (2)’’ after ‘‘gen21 erated’’; and 

22 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(D) Any funds made available under sub24 paragraph (C) that are not obligated or ex25 pended by the end of the fourth full fiscal year 


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1 after the date of the sale or exchange of land 

2 that generated the funds may be expended in 

3 any State.’’; 

4 (6) in section 206(c)(3) (43 U.S.C. 

5 2305(c)(3))— 

6 (A) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the acquisition of 

9 the land or interest therein will increase the 

10 public availability of resources for, and facilitate 

11 public access to, hunting, fishing, and other rec12 reational activities;’’; and 

13 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

14 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D); 

15 (7) in section 206(f) (43 U.S.C. 2305(f)), by 

16 amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(2) any remaining balance in the account shall 

18 be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit re19 duction, except that in the case of a fiscal year for 

20 which there is no Federal budget deficit, such 

21 amounts shall be used to reduce the Federal debt (in 

22 such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury con23 siders appropriate).’’; and 

24 (8) in section 207(b) (43 U.S.C. 2306(b))— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘96–568’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘96–586’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a 

4 semicolon; 

5 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) by inserting ‘‘Public Law 105– 

7 263;’’ before ‘‘112 Stat.’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

9 and inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) the White Pine County Conservation, 

12 Recreation, and Development Act of 2006 (Public 

13 Law 109–432; 120 Stat. 3028); 

14 ‘‘(4) the Lincoln County Conservation, Recre15 ation, and Development Act of 2004 (Public Law 

16 108–424; 118 Stat. 2403); 

17 ‘‘(5) subtitle F of title I of the Omnibus Public 

18 Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 1132 

19 note; Public Law 111–11); 

20 ‘‘(6) subtitle O of title I of the Omnibus Public 

21 Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 460www 

22 note, 1132 note; Public Law 111–11); 

23 ‘‘(7) section 2601 of the Omnibus Public Land 

24 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 

25 Stat. 1108); or 


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1 ‘‘(8) section 2606 of the Omnibus Public Land 

2 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 

3 Stat. 1121).’’. 

4 TITLE X—AFRICAN ELEPHANT 

5 CONSERVATION AND LEGAL 

6 IVORY POSSESSION ACT 

7 SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘African Elephant Con9 servation and Legal Ivory Possession Act’’. 

10 SEC. 1002. REFERENCES. 

11 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

12 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

13 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the ref14 erence shall be considered to be made to a provision of 

15 the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201 

16 et seq.). 

17 SEC. 1003. LIMITED EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN AFRICAN 

18 ELEPHANT IVORY. 

19 Section 2203 (16 U.S.C. 4223) is amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

21 the first sentence; 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘and subsection (b) of this sec23 tion’’ after ‘‘2202(e)’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION.—Nothing in this Act or subsection 

2 (a) or (d) of section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 

3 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538) shall be construed to prohibit im4 portation or exportation, or to require permission of the 

5 Secretary for importation or exportation, of— 

6 ‘‘(1) any raw ivory or worked ivory— 

7 ‘‘(A) imported solely for purposes of be8 coming part of a museum’s permanent collec9 tion, return to a lending museum, or display in 

10 a museum; or 

11 ‘‘(B) exported solely for purposes of— 

12 ‘‘(i) display in a foreign museum; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) return to a foreign person who 

14 lent such ivory to a museum in the United 

15 States; 

16 ‘‘(2) any raw ivory or worked ivory that was 

17 lawfully importable into the United States on Feb18 ruary 24, 2014, regardless of when acquired; or 

19 ‘‘(3) any worked ivory that was previously law20 fully possessed in the United States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 1004. PLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES FISH AND WILD2 LIFE SERVICE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS 

3 IN EACH AFRICAN ELEPHANT RANGE COUN4 TRY. 

5 Part I (16 U.S.C. 4211 et seq.) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 2105. PLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES FISH AND 

8 WILDLIFE SERVICE LAW ENFORCEMENT OF9 FICERS IN EACH AFRICAN ELEPHANT RANGE 

10 COUNTRY. 

11 ‘‘The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary 

12 of State, may station United States Fish and Wildlife 

13 Service law enforcement officers in the primary United 

14 States diplomatic or consular post in each African country 

15 that has a significant population of African elephants, who 

16 shall assist local wildlife rangers in the protection of Afri17 can elephants and facilitate the apprehension of individ18 uals who illegally kill, or assist the illegal killing of, Afri19 can elephants.’’. 

20 SEC. 1005. CERTIFICATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE 

21 FISHERMEN’S PROTECTIVE ACT OF 1967. 

22 Section 2202 (16 U.S.C. 4222) is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION.—When the Secretary of the In25 terior finds that a country, directly or indirectly, is a sig26 nificant transit or destination point for illegal ivory trade, 


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1 the Secretary shall certify such fact to the President with 

2 respect to the country for the purposes of section 8(a) of 

3 the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 

4 1978(a)).’’. 

5 SEC. 1006. TREATMENT OF ELEPHANT IVORY. 

6 Section 2203 (16 U.S.C. 4223) is further amended 

7 by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF ELEPHANT IVORY.—Nothing in 

9 this Act or the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

10 U.S.C. 1538) shall be construed— 

11 ‘‘(1) to prohibit, or to authorize prohibiting, the 

12 possession, sale, delivery, receipt, shipment, or trans13 portation of African elephant ivory, or any product 

14 containing African elephant ivory, that has been law15 fully imported or crafted in the United States; or 

16 ‘‘(2) to authorize using any means of deter17 mining for purposes of this Act or the Endangered 

18 Species Act of 1973 whether African elephant ivory 

19 has been lawfully imported, including any presump20 tion or burden of proof applied in such determina21 tion, other than such means used by the Secretary 

22 as of February 24, 2014.’’. 

23 SEC. 1007. SPORT-HUNTED ELEPHANT TROPHIES. 

24 Section 2203 (16 U.S.C. 4223) is further amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) SPORT-HUNTED ELEPHANT TROPHIES.—Noth2 ing in this Act or subsection (a) or (d) of section 9 of 

3 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538) 

4 shall be construed to prohibit any citizen or legal resident 

5 of the United States, or an agent of such an individual, 

6 from importing a sport-hunted African elephant trophy 

7 under section 2202(e) of this Act, if the country in which 

8 the elephant was taken had an elephant population on Ap9 pendix II of CITES at the time the trophy elephant was 

10 taken. 

11 ‘‘(e) RELATIONSHIP TO THE CONVENTION.—Nothing 

12 in this section shall be construed as modifying or repealing 

13 the Secretary’s duties to implement CITES and the ap14 pendices thereto, or as modifying or repealing section 8A 

15 or 9(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

16 1537a and 1538(c)).’’. 

17 SEC. 1008. AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ACT FINAN18 CIAL ASSISTANCE PRIORITY AND REAUTHOR19 IZATION. 

20 (a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PRIORITY.—Section 

21 2101 (16 U.S.C. 4211) is amended by redesignating sub22 sections (e) and (f) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively, 

23 and by inserting after subsection (d) the following: 

24 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—In providing financial assistance 

25 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to 


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1 projects designed to facilitate the acquisition of equipment 

2 and training of wildlife officials in ivory producing coun3 tries to be used in anti-poaching efforts.’’. 

4 (b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 2306(a) (16 U.S.C. 

5 4245(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2007 through 2012’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘2016 through 2020’’. 

7 SEC. 1009. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY. 

8 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

10 States shall conduct a study examining the effects of a 

11 ban of the trade in of fossilized ivory from mammoths and 

12 mastodons on the illegal importation and trade of African 

13 and Asian elephant ivory within the United States, with 

14 the exception of importation or trade thereof related to 

15 museum exhibitions or scientific research, and report to 

16 Congress the findings of such study. 

17 TITLE XI—RESPECT FOR 

18 TREATIES AND RIGHTS 

19 SEC. 1101. RESPECT FOR TREATIES AND RIGHTS. 

20 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

21 Act shall be construed to affect or modify any treaty or 

22 other right of any federally recognized Indian tribe. 


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1 TITLE XII—PERMITS FOR FILM 

2 CREWS OF FIVE PEOPLE OR 

3 LESS 

4 SEC. 1201. ANNUAL PERMIT AND FEE FOR FILM CREWS OF 

5 5 PERSONS OR FEWER. 

6 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro7 vide commercial film crews of 5 persons or fewer access 

8 to film in areas designated for public use during public 

9 hours on Federal land and waterways. 

10 (b) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM LAND.—Section 

11 100905 of title 54, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The 

14 Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided 

15 in paragraph (3), the Secretary’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR FILM CREWS OF 5

18 PERSONS OR FEWER.— 

19 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF FILM CREW.—In this 

20 paragraph, the term ‘film crew’ means any per21 sons present on Federal land or waterways 

22 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary who are 

23 associated with the production of a film. 

24 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED PERMIT AND FEE.—For 

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1 retary shall require a permit and assess an an2 nual fee of $200 for commercial filming activi3 ties or similar projects on Federal land and wa4 terways administered by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(C) COMMERCIAL FILMING ACTIVITIES.— 

6 A permit issued under subparagraph (B) shall 

7 be valid for commercial filming activities or 

8 similar projects that occur in areas designated 

9 for public use during public hours on all Fed10 eral land and waterways administered by the 

11 Secretary for a 1-year period beginning on the 

12 date of issuance of the permit. 

13 ‘‘(D) NO ADDITIONAL FEES.—For persons 

14 holding a permit issued under this paragraph, 

15 during the effective period of the permit, the 

16 Secretary shall not assess any fees in addition 

17 to the fee assessed under subparagraph (B). 

18 ‘‘(E) USE OF CAMERAS.—The Secretary 

19 shall not prohibit, as a mechanized apparatus 

20 or under any other purposes, use of cameras or 

21 related equipment used for the purpose of com22 mercial filming activities or similar projects in 

23 accordance with this paragraph on Federal land 

24 and waterways administered by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(F) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—A film 

2 crew of 5 persons or fewer subject to a permit 

3 issued under this paragraph shall notify the ap4 plicable land management agency with jurisdic5 tion over the Federal land at least 48 hours be6 fore entering the Federal land. 

7 ‘‘(G) DENIAL OF ACCESS.—The head of 

8 the applicable land management agency may 

9 deny access to a film crew under this paragraph 

10 if— 

11 ‘‘(i) there is a likelihood of resource 

12 damage that cannot be mitigated; 

13 ‘‘(ii) there would be an unreasonable 

14 disruption of the use and enjoyment of the 

15 site by the public; 

16 ‘‘(iii) the activity poses health or safe17 ty risks to the public; or 

18 ‘‘(iv) the filming includes the use of 

19 models or props that are not part of the 

20 natural or cultural resources or adminis21 trative facilities of the Federal land.’’; and 

22 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by 

23 striking ‘‘collect any costs’’ and inserting ‘‘recover 

24 any costs’’. 


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1 (c) OTHER FEDERAL LAND.—Section 1 of Public 

2 Law 106–206 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6d) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The 

5 Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided 

6 in paragraph (3), the Secretary’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR FILM CREWS OF 5

9 PERSONS OR FEWER.— 

10 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF FILM CREW.—In this 

11 paragraph, the term ‘film crew’ means any per12 sons present on Federal land or waterways 

13 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary who are 

14 associated with the production of a film. 

15 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED PERMIT AND FEE.—For 

16 any film crew of 5 persons or fewer, the Sec17 retary shall require a permit and assess an an18 nual fee of $200 for commercial filming activi19 ties or similar projects on Federal land and wa20 terways administered by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(C) COMMERCIAL FILMING ACTIVITIES.— 

22 A permit issued under subparagraph (B) shall 

23 be valid for commercial filming activities or 

24 similar projects that occur in areas designated 

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1 eral land and waterways administered by the 

2 Secretary for a 1-year period beginning on the 

3 date of issuance of the permit. 

4 ‘‘(D) NO ADDITIONAL FEES.—For persons 

5 holding a permit issued under this paragraph, 

6 during the effective period of the permit, the 

7 Secretary shall not assess any fees in addition 

8 to the fee assessed under subparagraph (B). 

9 ‘‘(E) USE OF CAMERAS.—The Secretary 

10 shall not prohibit, as a mechanized apparatus 

11 or under any other purposes, use of cameras or 

12 related equipment used for the purpose of com13 mercial filming activities or similar projects in 

14 accordance with this paragraph on Federal land 

15 and waterways administered by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(F) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—A film 

17 crew of 5 persons or fewer subject to a permit 

18 issued under this paragraph shall notify the ap19 plicable land management agency with jurisdic20 tion over the Federal land at least 48 hours be21 fore entering the Federal land. 

22 ‘‘(G) DENIAL OF ACCESS.—The head of 

23 the applicable land management agency may 

24 deny access to a film crew under this paragraph 

25 if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) there is a likelihood of resource 

2 damage that cannot be mitigated; 

3 ‘‘(ii) there would be an unreasonable 

4 disruption of the use and enjoyment of the 

5 site by the public; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the activity poses health or safe7 ty risks to the public; or 

8 ‘‘(iv) the filming includes the use of 

9 models or props that are not part of the 

10 natural or cultural resources or adminis11 trative facilities of the Federal land.’’; and 

12 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (b)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘collect any costs’’ and in14 serting ‘‘recover any costs’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘similar project’’ and in16 serting ‘‘similar projects’’. 

17 TITLE XIII—STATE APPROVAL 

18 OF FISHING RESTRICTION 

19 SEC. 1301. STATE OR TERRITORIAL APPROVAL OF RESTRIC20 TION OF RECREATIONAL OR COMMERCIAL 

21 FISHING ACCESS TO CERTAIN STATE OR TER22 RITORIAL WATERS. 

23 (a) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the In24 terior and the Secretary of Commerce shall not restrict 

25 recreational or commercial fishing access to any State or 


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1 territorial marine waters or Great Lakes waters within the 

2 jurisdiction of the National Park Service or the Office of 

3 National Marine Sanctuaries, respectively, unless those re4 strictions are developed in coordination with, and ap5 proved by, the fish and wildlife management agency of the 

6 State or territory that has fisheries management authority 

7 over those waters. 

8 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘marine 

9 waters’’ includes coastal waters and estuaries. 

10 TITLE XIV—HUNTING AND REC11 REATIONAL FISHING WITHIN 

12 CERTAIN NATIONAL FORESTS 

13 SEC. 1401. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this title: 

15 (1) HUNTING.—The term ‘‘hunting’’ means use 

16 of a firearm, bow, or other authorized means in the 

17 lawful pursuit, shooting, capture, collection, trap18 ping, or killing of wildlife; attempt to pursue, shoot, 

19 capture, collect, trap, or kill wildlife; or the training 

20 and use of hunting dogs, including field trials. 

21 (2) RECREATIONAL FISHING.—The term ‘‘rec22 reational fishing’’ means the lawful pursuit, capture, 

23 collection, or killing of fish; or attempt to capture, 

24 collect, or kill fish. 


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1 (3) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest plan’’ 

2 means a land and resource management plan pre3 pared by the Forest Service for a unit of the Na4 tional Forest System pursuant to section 6 of the 

5 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan6 ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

7 (4) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

8 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 

9 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range10 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

11 U.S.C. 1609(a)) 

12 SEC. 1402. HUNTING AND RECREATIONAL FISHING WITHIN 

13 THE NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM. 

14 (a) PROHIBITION OF RESTRICTIONS.—The Secretary 

15 of Agriculture or Chief of the Forest Service may not es16 tablish policies, directives, or regulations that restrict the 

17 type, season, or method of hunting or recreational fishing 

18 on lands within the National Forest System that are oth19 erwise open to those activities and are consistent with the 

20 applicable forest plan. 

21 (b) PRIOR RESTRICTIONS VOID.—Any restrictions 

22 imposed by the Secretary of Agriculture or Chief of the 

23 Forest Service regarding the type, season, or method of 

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1 tivities in force on the date of the enactment of this Act 

2 shall be void and have no force or effect. 

3 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply only to 

4 the Kisatchie National Forest in the State of Louisiana, 

5 the De Soto National Forest in the State of Mississippi, 

6 the Mark Twain National Forest in the State of Missouri, 

7 and the Ozark National Forest, the St. Francis National 

8 Forest and the Ouachita National Forest in the States 

9 of Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

10 (d) STATE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section, sec11 tion 1 of the Act of June 4, 1897 (16 U.S.C. 551), or 

12 section 32 of the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. 1011) 

13 shall affect the authority of States to manage hunting or 

14 recreational fishing on lands within the National Forest 

15 System. 

16 SEC. 1403. PUBLICATION OF CLOSURE OF ROADS IN FOR17 ESTS. 

18 The Chief of the Forest Service shall publish a notice 

19 in the Federal Register for the closure of any public road 

20 on Forest System lands, along with a justification for the 

21 closure. 


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1 TITLE XV—GRAND CANYON 

2 BISON MANAGEMENT ACT 

3 SEC. 1501. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Grand Canyon Bison 

5 Management Act’’. 

6 SEC. 1502. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage9 ment plan’’ means the management plan published 

10 under section 1503(a). 

11 (2) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Grand 

12 Canyon National Park. 

13 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (4) SKILLED PUBLIC VOLUNTEER.—The term 

16 ‘‘skilled public volunteer’’ means an individual who 

17 possesses— 

18 (A) a valid hunting license issued by the 

19 State of Arizona; and 

20 (B) such other qualifications as the Sec21 retary may require, after consultation with the 

22 Arizona Game and Fish Commission. 


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1 SEC. 1503. BISON MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR GRAND CANYON 

2 NATIONAL PARK. 

3 (a) PUBLICATION OF PLAN.—Not later than 180 

4 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 shall publish a management plan to reduce, through hu6 mane lethal culling by skilled public volunteers and by 

7 other nonlethal means, the population of bison in the Park 

8 that the Secretary determines are detrimental to the use 

9 of the Park. 

10 (b) REMOVAL OF ANIMAL.—Notwithstanding any 

11 other provision of law, a skilled public volunteer may re12 move a full bison harvested from the Park. 

13 (c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate 

14 with the Arizona Game and Fish Commission regarding 

15 the development and implementation of the management 

16 plan. 

17 (d) NEPA COMPLIANCE.—In developing the manage18 ment plan, the Secretary shall comply with all applicable 

19 Federal environmental laws (including regulations), in20 cluding the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

21 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

22 (e) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this title applies to the 

23 taking of wildlife in the Park for any purpose other than 

24 the implementation of the management plan. 


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1 TITLE XVI—OPEN BOOK ON 

2 EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE 

3 SEC. 1601. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Open Book on Equal 

5 Access to Justice Act’’. 

6 SEC. 1602. MODIFICATION OF EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE 

7 PROVISIONS. 

8 (a) AGENCY PROCEEDINGS.—Section 504 of title 5, 

9 United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘, United 

11 States Code’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub13 section (i); and 

14 (3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(e)(1) The Chairman of the Administrative Con17 ference of the United States, after consultation with the 

18 Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Admin19 istration, shall report to the Congress, not later than 

20 March 31 of each year through the 6th calendar year be21 ginning after the initial report under this subsection is 

22 submitted, on the amount of fees and other expenses 

23 awarded during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to this 

24 section. The report shall describe the number, nature, and 

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1 troversy, and any other relevant information that may aid 

2 the Congress in evaluating the scope and impact of such 

3 awards. The report shall be made available to the public 

4 online. 

5 ‘‘(2)(A) The report required by paragraph (1) shall 

6 account for all payments of fees and other expenses 

7 awarded under this section that are made pursuant to a 

8 settlement agreement, regardless of whether the settle9 ment agreement is sealed or otherwise subject to non10 disclosure provisions. 

11 ‘‘(B) The disclosure of fees and other expenses re12 quired under subparagraph (A) does not affect any other 

13 information that is subject to nondisclosure provisions in 

14 the settlement agreement. 

15 ‘‘(f) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference 

16 shall create and maintain, during the period beginning on 

17 the date the initial report under subsection (e) is sub18 mitted and ending one year after the date on which the 

19 final report under that subsection is submitted, online a 

20 searchable database containing the following information 

21 with respect to each award of fees and other expenses 

22 under this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) The case name and number of the adver24 sary adjudication, if available. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The name of the agency involved in the 

2 adversary adjudication. 

3 ‘‘(3) A description of the claims in the adver4 sary adjudication. 

5 ‘‘(4) The name of each party to whom the 

6 award was made, as such party is identified in the 

7 order or other agency document making the award. 

8 ‘‘(5) The amount of the award. 

9 ‘‘(6) The basis for the finding that the position 

10 of the agency concerned was not substantially justi11 fied. 

12 ‘‘(g) The online searchable database described in sub13 section (f) may not reveal any information the disclosure 

14 of which is prohibited by law or court order. 

15 ‘‘(h) The head of each agency shall provide to the 

16 Chairman of the Administrative Conference in a timely 

17 manner all information requested by the Chairman to 

18 comply with the requirements of subsections (e), (f), and 

19 (g).’’. 

20 (b) COURT CASES.—Section 2412(d) of title 28, 

21 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(5)(A) The Chairman of the Administrative Con24 ference of the United States shall submit to the Congress, 

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1 endar year beginning after the initial report under this 

2 paragraph is submitted, a report on the amount of fees 

3 and other expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal 

4 year pursuant to this subsection. The report shall describe 

5 the number, nature, and amount of the awards, the claims 

6 involved in each controversy, and any other relevant infor7 mation that may aid the Congress in evaluating the scope 

8 and impact of such awards. The report shall be made 

9 available to the public online. 

10 ‘‘(B)(i) The report required by subparagraph (A) 

11 shall account for all payments of fees and other expenses 

12 awarded under this subsection that are made pursuant to 

13 a settlement agreement, regardless of whether the settle14 ment agreement is sealed or otherwise subject to non15 disclosure provisions. 

16 ‘‘(ii) The disclosure of fees and other expenses re17 quired under clause (i) does not affect any other informa18 tion that is subject to nondisclosure provisions in the set19 tlement agreement. 

20 ‘‘(C) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference 

21 shall include and clearly identify in the annual report 

22 under subparagraph (A), for each case in which an award 

23 of fees and other expenses is included in the report— 

24 ‘‘(i) any amounts paid from section 1304 of 

25 title 31 for a judgment in the case; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the award of fees and other 

2 expenses; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the statute under which the plaintiff filed 

4 suit. 

5 ‘‘(6) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference 

6 shall create and maintain, during the period beginning on 

7 the date the initial report under paragraph (5) is sub8 mitted and ending one year after the date on which the 

9 final report under that paragraph is submitted, online a 

10 searchable database containing the following information 

11 with respect to each award of fees and other expenses 

12 under this subsection: 

13 ‘‘(A) The case name and number. 

14 ‘‘(B) The name of the agency involved in the 

15 case. 

16 ‘‘(C) The name of each party to whom the 

17 award was made, as such party is identified in the 

18 order or other court document making the award. 

19 ‘‘(D) A description of the claims in the case. 

20 ‘‘(E) The amount of the award. 

21 ‘‘(F) The basis for the finding that the position 

22 of the agency concerned was not substantially justi23 fied. 


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1 ‘‘(7) The online searchable database described in 

2 paragraph (6) may not reveal any information the disclo3 sure of which is prohibited by law or court order. 

4 ‘‘(8) The head of each agency (including the Attorney 

5 General of the United States) shall provide to the Chair6 man of the Administrative Conference of the United 

7 States in a timely manner all information requested by 

8 the Chairman to comply with the requirements of para9 graphs (5), (6), and (7).’’. 

10 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 2412 of title 

11 28, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (d)(3), by striking ‘‘United 

13 States Code,’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (e)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘of section 2412 of title 

16 28, United States Code,’’ and inserting ‘‘of this 

17 section’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘of such title’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘of this title’’. 

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

22 subsections (a) and (b) shall first apply with respect 

23 to awards of fees and other expenses that are made 

24 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (2) INITIAL REPORTS.—The first reports re2 quired by section 504(e) of title 5, United States 

3 Code, and section 2412(d)(5) of title 28, United 

4 States Code, shall be submitted not later than 

5 March 31 of the calendar year following the first 

6 calendar year in which a fiscal year begins after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (3) ONLINE DATABASES.—The online databases 

9 required by section 504(f) of title 5, United States 

10 Code, and section 2412(d)(6) of title 28, United 

11 States Code, shall be established as soon as prac12 ticable after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

13 but in no case later than the date on which the first 

14 reports under section 504(e) of title 5, United States 

15 Code, and section 2412(d)(5) of title 28, United 

16 States Code, are required to be submitted under 

17 paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

18 TITLE XVII—UTILITY TERRAIN 

19 VEHICLES 

20 SEC. 1701. UTILITY TERRAIN VEHICLES IN KISATCHIE NA21 TIONAL FOREST. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Forest Administrator shall 

23 amend the applicable travel plan to allow utility terrain 

24 vehicles access on all roads nominated by the Secretary 

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1 tional Forest, except when such designation would pose 

2 an unacceptable safety risk, in which case the Forest Ad3 ministrator shall publish a notice in the Federal Register 

4 with a justification for the closure. 

5 (b) UTILITY TERRAIN VEHICLES DEFINED.—For 

6 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘utility terrain vehi7 cle’’— 

8 (1) means any recreational motor vehicle de9 signed for and capable of travel over designated 

10 roads, traveling on four or more tires with a max11 imum tire width of 27 inches, a maximum wheel 

cleat or lug of 3 12 ⁄4 of an inch, a minimum width of 

13 50 inches but not exceeding 74 inches, a minimum 

14 weight of at least 700 pounds but not exceeding 

15 2,000 pounds, and a minimum wheelbase of 61 

16 inches but not exceeding 110 inches; 

17 (2) includes vehicles not equipped with a certifi18 cation label as required by part 567.4 of title 49, 

19 Code of Federal Regulations; and 

20 (3) does not include golf carts, vehicles specially 

21 designed to carry a disabled person, or vehicles oth22 erwise registered under section 32.299 of the Lou23 isiana State statutes. 


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1 TITLE XVIII—GOOD SAMARITAN 

2 SEARCH AND RECOVERY 

3 SEC. 1801. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Good Samaritan 

5 Search and Recovery Act’’. 

6 SEC. 1802. EXPEDITED ACCESS TO CERTAIN FEDERAL 

7 LAND. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ELIGIBLE.—The term ‘‘eligible’’, with re10 spect to an organization or individual, means that 

11 the organization or individual, respectively, is— 

12 (A) acting in a not-for-profit capacity; and 

13 (B) composed entirely of members who, at 

14 the time of the good Samaritan search-and-re15 covery mission, have attained the age of major16 ity under the law of the State where the mis17 sion takes place. 

18 (2) GOOD SAMARITAN SEARCH-AND-RECOVERY

19 MISSION.—The term ‘‘good Samaritan search-and20 recovery mission’’ means a search conducted by an 

21 eligible organization or individual for 1 or more 

22 missing individuals believed to be deceased at the 

23 time that the search is initiated. 


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1 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Ag3 riculture, as applicable. 

4 (b) PROCESS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Secretary shall develop 

6 and implement a process to expedite access to Fed7 eral land under the administrative jurisdiction of the 

8 Secretary for eligible organizations and individuals 

9 to request access to Federal land to conduct good 

10 Samaritan search-and-recovery missions. 

11 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The process developed and 

12 implemented under this subsection shall include pro13 visions to clarify that— 

14 (A) an eligible organization or individual 

15 granted access under this section— 

16 (i) shall be acting for private pur17 poses; and 

18 (ii) shall not be considered to be a 

19 Federal volunteer; 

20 (B) an eligible organization or individual 

21 conducting a good Samaritan search-and-recov22 ery mission under this section shall not be con23 sidered to be a volunteer under section 

24 102301(c) of title 54, United States Code; 


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1 (C) chapter 171 of title 28, United States 

2 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Federal Tort 

3 Claims Act’’), shall not apply to an eligible or4 ganization or individual carrying out a privately 

5 requested good Samaritan search-and-recovery 

6 mission under this section; and 

7 (D) an eligible organization or entity who 

8 conducts a good Samaritan search-and-recovery 

9 mission under this section shall serve without 

10 pay from the Federal Government for such 

11 service. 

12 (c) RELEASE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FROM LI13 ABILITY.—The Secretary shall not require an eligible or14 ganization or individual to have liability insurance as a 

15 condition of accessing Federal land under this section, if 

16 the eligible organization or individual— 

17 (1) acknowledges and consents, in writing, to 

18 the provisions described in subparagraphs (A) 

19 through (D) of subsection (b)(2); and 

20 (2) signs a waiver releasing the Federal Gov21 ernment from all liability relating to the access 

22 granted under this section and agrees to indemnify 

23 and hold harmless the United States from any 

24 claims or lawsuits arising from any conduct by the 

25 eligible organization or individual on Federal land. 


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1 (d) APPROVAL AND DENIAL OF REQUESTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall notify 

3 an eligible organization or individual of the approval 

4 or denial of a request by the eligible organization or 

5 individual to carry out a good Samaritan search6 and-recovery mission under this section by not later 

7 than 48 hours after the request is made. 

8 (2) DENIALS.—If the Secretary denies a re9 quest from an eligible organization or individual to 

10 carry out a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mis11 sion under this section, the Secretary shall notify the 

12 eligible organization or individual of— 

13 (A) the reason for the denial of the re14 quest; and 

15 (B) any actions that the eligible organiza16 tion or individual can take to meet the require17 ments for the request to be approved. 

18 (e) PARTNERSHIPS.—Each Secretary shall develop 

19 search-and-recovery-focused partnerships with search-and20 recovery organizations— 

21 (1) to coordinate good Samaritan search-and22 recovery missions on Federal land under the admin23 istrative jurisdiction of the Secretary; and 

24 (2) to expedite and accelerate good Samaritan 

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1 viduals on Federal land under the administrative ju2 risdiction of the Secretary. 

3 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to 

5 Congress a joint report describing— 

6 (1) plans to develop partnerships described in 

7 subsection (e)(1); and 

8 (2) efforts carried out to expedite and accel9 erate good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission 

10 efforts for missing individuals on Federal land under 

11 the administrative jurisdiction of each Secretary 

12 pursuant to subsection (e)(2). 

13 TITLE XIX—INTERSTATE TRANS14 PORTATION OF FIREARMS OR 

15 AMMUNITION 

16 SEC. 1901. INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF FIREARMS 

17 OR AMMUNITION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 926A of title 18, United 

19 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘§ 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms or am21 munition 

22 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any provision of any law, rule, 

23 or regulation of a State or any political subdivision there24 of: 


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1 ‘‘(1) A person who is not prohibited by this 

2 chapter from possessing, transporting, shipping, or 

3 receiving a firearm or ammunition shall be entitled 

4 to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from 

5 any place where the person may lawfully possess, 

6 carry, or transport the firearm to any other such 

7 place if, during the transportation, the firearm is 

8 unloaded, and— 

9 ‘‘(A) if the transportation is by motor vehi10 cle, the firearm is not directly accessible from 

11 the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and, 

12 if the vehicle is without a compartment separate 

13 from the passenger compartment, the firearm is 

14 in a locked container other than the glove com15 partment or console, or is secured by a secure 

16 gun storage or safety device; or 

17 ‘‘(B) if the transportation is by other 

18 means, the firearm is in a locked container or 

19 secured by a secure gun storage or safety de20 vice. 

21 ‘‘(2) A person who is not prohibited by this 

22 chapter from possessing, transporting, shipping, or 

23 receiving a firearm or ammunition shall be entitled 

24 to transport ammunition for any lawful purpose 

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1 sess, carry, or transport the ammunition, to any 

2 other such place if, during the transportation, the 

3 ammunition is not loaded into a firearm, and— 

4 ‘‘(A) if the transportation is by motor vehi5 cle, the ammunition is not directly accessible 

6 from the passenger compartment of the vehicle, 

7 and, if the vehicle is without a compartment 

8 separate from the passenger compartment, the 

9 ammunition is in a locked container other than 

10 the glove compartment or console; or 

11 ‘‘(B) if the transportation is by other 

12 means, the ammunition is in a locked container. 

13 ‘‘(b) In subsection (a), the term ‘transport’ includes 

14 staying in temporary lodging overnight, stopping for food, 

15 fuel, vehicle maintenance, an emergency, medical treat16 ment, and any other activity incidental to the transport, 

17 but does not include transportation— 

18 ‘‘(1) with the intent to commit a crime punish19 able by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year 

20 that involves the use or threatened use of force 

21 against another; or 

22 ‘‘(2) with knowledge, or reasonable cause to be23 lieve, that such a crime is to be committed in the 

24 course of, or arising from, the transportation. 


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1 ‘‘(c)(1) A person who is transporting a firearm or 

2 ammunition may not be arrested or otherwise detained for 

3 violation of any law or any rule or regulation of a State 

4 or any political subdivision thereof related to the posses5 sion, transportation, or carrying of firearms, unless there 

6 is probable cause to believe that the person is doing so 

7 in a manner not provided for in subsection (a). 

8 ‘‘(2) When a person asserts this section as a defense 

9 in a criminal proceeding, the prosecution shall bear the 

10 burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the 

11 conduct of the person did not satisfy the conditions set 

12 forth in subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(3) When a person successfully asserts this section 

14 as a defense in a criminal proceeding, the court shall 

15 award the prevailing defendant a reasonable attorney’s 

16 fee. 

17 ‘‘(d)(1) A person who is deprived of any right, privi18 lege, or immunity secured by this section, section 926B 

19 or 926C, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, 

20 custom, or usage of any State or any political subdivision 

21 thereof, may bring an action in any appropriate court 

22 against any other person, including a State or political 

23 subdivision thereof, who causes the person to be subject 

24 to the deprivation, for damages and other appropriate re25 lief. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The court shall award a plaintiff prevailing in 

2 an action brought under paragraph (1) damages and such 

3 other relief as the court deems appropriate, including a 

4 reasonable attorney’s fee.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

6 for such chapter is amended in the item relating to section 

7 926A by striking ‘‘firearms’’ and inserting ‘‘firearms or 

8 ammunition’’. 

9 TITLE XX—GRAY WOLVES 

10 SEC. 2001. REISSUANCE OF FINAL RULE REGARDING GRAY 

11 WOLVES IN THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES. 

12 Before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

14 shall reissue the final rule published on December 28, 

15 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 81666), without regard to any other 

16 provision of statute or regulation that applies to issuance 

17 of such rule. Such reissuance shall not be subject to judi18 cial review. 

19 SEC. 2002. REISSUANCE OF FINAL RULE REGARDING GRAY 

20 WOLVES IN WYOMING. 

21 Before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

23 shall reissue the final rule published on September 10, 

24 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 55530), without regard to any other 

25 provision of statute or regulation that applies to issuance 


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1 of such rule. Such reissuance shall not be subject to judi2 cial review. 

3 TITLE XXI—MISCELLANEOUS 

4 PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 2101. PROHIBITION ON ISSUANCE OF FINAL RULE. 

6 The Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

7 Service shall not issue a final rule that— 

8 (1) succeeds the proposed rule entitled ‘‘Non9 Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participa10 tion and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife 

11 Refuges in Alaska’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 887 (January 8, 

12 2016)); or 

13 (2) is substantially similar to that proposed 

14 rule. 

15 SEC. 2102. WITHDRAWAL OF EXISTING RULE REGARDING 

16 HUNTING AND TRAPPING IN ALASKA. 

17 The Director of the National Park Service shall with18 draw the final rule entitled ‘‘Alaska; Hunting and Trap19 ping in National Preserves’’ (80 Fed. Reg. 64325 (Octo20 ber 23, 2015)) by not later than 30 days after the date 


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1 of the enactment of this Act, and shall not issue a rule 

2 that is substantially similar to that rule. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 26, 

2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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