I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4144

To protect and enhance sportsmen’s opportunities and enhance wildlife

conservation.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 24, 1996

Mr. BREWSTER (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. PETE GEREN of

Texas, Mr. CHAMBLISS, and Mr. CUNNINGHAM) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition

to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee

concerned

A BILL

To protect and enhance sportsmen’s opportunities and

enhance wildlife conservation.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sportsmen’s Bill of

5 Rights Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) fishing is an important and traditional rec2 reational activity in which 36,000,000 Americans 16

3 years old and older participate;

4 (2) hunting is an important and traditional rec5 reational activity in which 14,000,000 Americans 16

6 years old and older participate;

7 (3) survey data from a recent comprehensive 3-

8 year study entitled ‘‘Factors Related to Hunting and

9 Fishing Participation in the United States’’ suggest

10 that 95 percent of Americans agreed fishing should

11 remain legal and 81 percent agreed hunting should

12 remain legal;

13 (4) anglers and hunters have been and continue

14 to be among the foremost supporters of sound wild15 life management and conservation practices in the

16 United States;

17 (5) persons who hunt or fish and organizations

18 related to those activities provide direct assistance to

19 wildlife managers and enforcement officers of Fed20 eral, State, and local governments;

21 (6) funds raised through license, permit, and

22 stamp purchases as well as through excise taxes on

23 goods used by anglers and hunters have generated

24 more than $6,000,000,000 for wildlife research and

25 management; and
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1 (7) fishing and hunting are essential compo2 nents of effective wildlife management in that they

3 tend to reduce conflicts between people and wildlife

4 and provide incentives for the conservation of wild5 life and habitats and ecosystems on which wildlife

6 depends.

7 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States

8 that in performing duties under Federal law, all Federal

9 agencies that have authority to manage a natural resource

10 or the land and water on which a natural resource depends

11 shall exercise the authority in a manner so as to support,

12 promote, and enhance opportunities for fishing and hunt13 ing.

14 SEC. 3. TAKING OF FISH AND WILDLIFE ON FEDERAL

15 LANDS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Federal land shall be open to ac17 cess and use for fishing and hunting unless—

18 (1) the responsible agency of the State in which

19 the Federal land is located limits access to and use

20 of the land as part of wildlife management by the

21 State; or

22 (2) the Federal agency responsible for Federal

23 public land limits access and use—

24 (A) for reasons of national security; or
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1 (B) for reasons related to specific statutory

2 requirements regarding the management and

3 use of the land, if the requirements are clearly

4 and directly incompatible with fishing or hunt5 ing.

6 (b) NO PRIORITY.—This section does not require a

7 Federal agency to give preference to fishing or hunting

8 over other uses of Federal land or land management prior9 ities established in Federal law.

10 (c) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act impairs

12 the primacy of State authority in regulating the tak13 ing of fish and wildlife on land within the State, in14 cluding Federal land.

15 (2) FEDERAL AUTHORITY.—Except as expressly

16 provided by Act of Congress, the authority of a Fed17 eral agency regarding the taking of fish and wildlife

18 on Federal land managed by the Federal agency

19 shall be no greater than the rights of a private

20 owner of land.

21 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORTS22 MEN’S TRUST ACCOUNTS.

23 (a) FUNDING OF PLANS AND PROJECTS.—

24 (1) FEDERAL AID IN WILDLIFE RESTORATION

25 ACT.—The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide that the
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1 United States shall aid the States in wildlife-restora2 tion projects, and for other purposes’’, approved

3 September 2, 1937 (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.; com4 monly known as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restora5 tion Act), is amended—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’

7 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary

8 of the Interior’’; and

9 (B) in section 4 by adding at the end the

10 following:

11 ‘‘(c) The amount of funding made available to the

12 Secretary of the Interior for expenses under this section

13 shall not be available for use as a supplement to decreased

14 funding for any other expense under the authority of the

15 Secretary of the Interior.’’.

16 (2) FEDERAL AID IN FISH RESTORATION

17 ACT.—Section 4 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro18 vide that the United States shall aid the States in

19 fish restoration and management projects, and for

20 other purposes’’, approved August 9, 1950 (16

21 U.S.C. 777c; commonly known as the Federal Aid in

22 Fish Restoration Act), is amended by adding at the

23 end the following:

24 ‘‘(f) The amount of funding made available to the

25 Secretary of the Interior for expenses under this section
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1 shall not be available for use as a supplement to decreased

2 funding for any other expense under the authority of the

3 Secretary of the Interior.’’.

4 SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT EFFECTS.

5 (a) STATEMENT.—No Federal agency action that

6 may significantly diminish opportunities or access to en7 gage in fishing or hunting on Federal land shall be effec8 tive until the agency prepares a detailed statement evalu9 ating the effect of the action on fishing and hunting.

10 (b) NOTICE AND HEARING.—Before taking an action

11 described in subsection (a), a Federal agency shall—

12 (1) provide notice of the proposed agency action

13 to the appropriate State agency responsible for the

14 conduct or oversight of fish and wildlife manage15 ment; and

16 (2) conduct a public hearing in the vicinity of

17 the proposed action.

18 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An individual or entity that

19 may be adversely affected by a loss of fishing or hunting

20 opportunities on Federal land as a result of an agency ac21 tion described in subsection (a) may bring a civil action

22 in a United States district court for review of the action.

23 (d) EMERGENCIES.—Nothing in this section pre24 cludes an agency from exercising statutory authority to
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1 close Federal lands in an emergency or other exigent cir2 cumstances.

3 (e) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this sec4 tion affects or has application to the Migratory Bird Trea5 ty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.) or the Magnuson Fishery

6 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et

7 seq.).

8 SEC. 6. CLARIFICATIONS RELATING TO MAINTENANCE OF

9 FISHING AND HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES.

10 (a) DEFINITION OF POINT SOURCE.—Section

11 502(14) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33

12 U.S.C. 1362(14)) is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘means’’ and inserting the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(A) means’’;

16 (2) by striking ‘‘discharged.’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘discharged; but’’; and

18 (3) by striking ‘‘This term does not include ag19 ricultural stormwater’’ and all that follows through

20 the end of the sentence and inserting the following:

21 ‘‘(B) does not include—

22 ‘‘(i) agricultural stormwater dis23 charges and return flows from irrigated

24 agriculture; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) any conveyance that serves the

2 purposes of directly assisting individuals

3 engaged in fishing, hunting, or recreational

4 shooting.’’.

5 (b) DREDGED OR FILL MATERIAL.—Section

6 404(f)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33

7 U.S.C. 1344(f)(1)) is amended—

8 (1) by striking the comma at the end of sub9 paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

10 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(G) resulting from the conduct of fishing,

13 hunting, or recreational shooting,’’.

14 SEC. 7. PROMOTION OF FISHING AND HUNTING BY FED15 ERAL AGENCIES.

16 Each Federal agency, in carrying out the Act entitled

17 ‘‘An Act to provide that the United States shall aid States

18 in wildlife-restoration projects, and for other purposes’’,

19 approved September 2, 1937 (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.; com20 monly known as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration

21 Act), or the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide that the Unit22 ed States shall aid the States in fish restoration and man23 agement projects, and for other purposes’’, approved Au24 gust 9, 1950 (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.; commonly known

25 as the Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act), shall seek
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1 to enhance existing programs and services and establish

2 new programs and services that promote fishing and hunt3 ing.

4 SEC. 8. CIVIL ACTIONS.

5 (a) INTERVENTION.—A person interested in fishing

6 or hunting shall be entitled to intervene as a matter of

7 right in a civil action brought under any other Federal

8 law relating to the use of any Federal land in which the

9 plaintiff seeks an order that would require the use (or

10 nonuse) of the land in such a manner as to impair access

11 to or use of the land for the purpose of fishing or hunting

12 as required by this Act.

13 (b) CONSIDERATION OF INTERESTS.—If an interve14 nor under subsection (a) shows that the application of an15 other Federal law as sought by the plaintiff would be likely

16 to impair access to or use of the land for the purpose of

17 fishing or hunting as required by this Act, the court shall

18 not grant the relief sought unless the plaintiff shows that

19 the interest intended to be advanced by the other Federal

20 law clearly outweighs the interest of protecting access to

21 and use of Federal land for fishing and hunting.

22 SEC. 9. STANDING TO BRING A CIVIL ACTION.

23 An individual who is licensed by a State to engage

24 in fishing or hunting, or an organization representing the

25 interests of such individuals, may bring a civil action in
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1 a United States district court to seek declaratory or in2 junctive relief regarding the implementation of any provi3 sion of this Act, including a declaration that a civil action

4 brought by another person may significantly disrupt or

5 eliminate opportunities for fishing or hunting and an in6 junction against the prosecution of the civil action.

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