I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 642 

To provide opportunities for continued recreational shooting on certain 

Federal public land. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 22, 2009 

Mr. FLAKE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide opportunities for continued recreational shooting 

on certain Federal public land. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recreational Shooting 

5 Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

9 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. 


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1 (2) FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘Fed2 eral public land’’ means any Federal land that is— 

3 (A) publicly accessible; 

4 (B) under the jurisdiction of and adminis5 tered by the Bureau of Land Management; and 

6 (C) managed for purposes that include the 

7 conservation of natural resources. 

8 (3) RANGE TECHNICAL ADVISOR.—The term 

9 ‘‘Range Technical Advisor’’ means a person des10 ignated by the Director who has experience as a 

11 technical advisor for shooting range development, de12 sign, or operations. 

13 (4) RECREATIONAL SHOOTING.—The term 

14 ‘‘recreational shooting’’ means any form of shooting 

15 sport or pastime, formal or informal, by whatever 

16 name known, including (but not limited to) target 

17 and practical rifle, pistol and shotgun shooting, 

18 archery, trap, skeet, and sporting clays. 

19 SEC. 3. RECREATIONAL SHOOTING. 

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

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

22 recreational shooting except as limited by the Director for 

23 one or more of the following: 

24 (1) Reasons of national security. 


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1 (2) Reasons of public safety, based on the writ2 ten recommendation of a Range Technical Advisor. 

3 (3) To comply with applicable Federal law. 

4 (4) To comply with a law (including regula5 tions) of the State in which the Federal public land 

6 is located that is applicable to recreational shooting. 

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

8 the Director shall manage Federal public land— 

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

10 enhances recreational shooting opportunities; 

11 (2) to the extent authorized under State law 

12 (including regulations); and 

13 (3) in accordance with applicable Federal law 

14 (including regulations). 

15 (c) NO NET LOSS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal public land manage17 ment decisions and actions shall, to the maximum 

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

19 available for recreational shooting on Federal public 

20 land. If any Federal public land is permanently 

21 closed to recreational shooting, new acres of Federal 

22 public land of comparable size and a reasonable dis23 tance from the closed location shall be designated for 

24 recreational shooting and be opened for a number of 

25 user-days equal to those available at the closed area. 


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

2 1 of each year, the Director shall submit to the 

3 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

4 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

5 Natural Resources of the Senate a report that de6 scribes— 

7 (A) any Federal public land that was 

8 closed to recreational shooting at any time dur9 ing the preceding year; 

10 (B) the reason for the closure; and 

11 (C) Federal public land that was opened to 

12 recreational hunting to compensate for the clo13 sure of the areas described in subparagraph 

14 (A). 

15 (3) CLOSURES.—The withdrawal, change of 

16 classification, or change of management status that 

17 effectively permanently closes Federal public land to 

18 access or use for recreational shooting shall take ef19 fect only if, before the date of withdrawal or change, 

20 the Director submits to the Committee on Natural 

21 Resources of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

23 Senate written notice of the withdrawal or change, 

24 unless such closure is necessary immediately for reaVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:33 Jan 23, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H642.IH H642

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1 sons of public safety, as certified by the Range 

2 Technical Advisor, or national security. 

3 (d) NO PRIORITY.—Nothing in this Act requires the 

4 Director to give preference to recreational shooting over 

5 other uses of Federal public land or over land or water 

6 management priorities established by Federal law. 

7 (e) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.— 

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

9 authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility of a State to 

10 manage, control, or regulate fish and wildlife under 

11 State law (including regulations) on land or water in 

12 the State, including Federal public land. 

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

14 authorizes the Director to require a license for rec15 reational shooting on land or water in a State, in16 cluding on Federal public land in the State. 

17 (3) STATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

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

19 the failure of the Director to comply with this 

20 Act may bring a civil action in the United 

21 States District Court for the district in which 

22 the failure occurs for a permanent injunction. 

23 (B) PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION.—If the 

24 district court determines, based on the facts, 

25 that a preliminary injunction is appropriate, the 


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1 district court may grant a preliminary injunc2 tion. 

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

4 issues an injunction under this paragraph or 

5 otherwise finds in favor of the State, the dis6 trict court shall award to the State any reason7 able costs of bringing the civil action (including 

8 an attorney’s fee). 

Æ 


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