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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2834 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2834

    To recognize the heritage of recreational fishing, hunting, and 
shooting on Federal public lands and ensure continued opportunities for 
                           these activities.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 2, 2011

  Mr. Benishek (for himself, Mr. Boren, Mr. Young of Alaska, and Mr. 
                  Kelly) introduced the following bill

                           September 6, 2011

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 
Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To recognize the heritage of recreational fishing, hunting, and 
shooting on Federal public lands and ensure continued opportunities for 
                           these activities.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Recreational Fishing and Hunting 
Heritage and Opportunities Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) recreational fishing and hunting are important and 
        traditional activities in which millions of Americans 
        participate;
            (2) recreational anglers and hunters have been and continue 
        to be among the foremost supporters of sound fish and wildlife 
        management and conservation in the United States;
            (3) recreational fishing and hunting are environmentally 
        acceptable and beneficial activities that occur and can be 
        provided on Federal public lands and waters without adverse 
        effects on other uses or users;
            (4) recreational anglers, hunters, and sporting 
        organizations provide direct assistance to fish and wildlife 
        managers and enforcement officers of the Federal Government as 
        well as State and local governments by investing volunteer time 
        and effort to fish and wildlife conservation;
            (5) recreational anglers, hunters, and the associated 
        industries have generated billions of dollars of critical 
        funding for fish and wildlife conservation, research, and 
        management by providing revenues from purchases of fishing and 
        hunting licenses, permits, and stamps, as well as excise taxes 
        on fishing, hunting, and shooting equipment that have generated 
        billions of dollars of critical funding for fish and wildlife 
        conservation, research, and management;
            (6) recreational shooting is also an important and 
        traditional activity in which millions of Americans 
        participate, safe recreational shooting is a valid use of 
        Federal public lands, and participation in recreational 
        shooting helps recruit and retain hunters and contributes to 
        wildlife conservation;
            (7) opportunities to recreationally fish, hunt, and shoot 
        are declining, which depresses participation in these 
        traditional activities, and depressed participation adversely 
        impacts fish and wildlife conservation and funding for 
        important conservation efforts; and
            (8) the public interest would be served, and our citizens' 
        fish and wildlife resources benefitted, by action to ensure 
        that opportunities are facilitated to engage in fishing and 
        hunting on Federal public land as recognized by Executive Order 
        12962, relating to recreational fisheries, and Executive Order 
        13443, relating to facilitation of hunting heritage and 
        wildlife conservation.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    In this Act:
            (1) Federal public land.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the term ``Federal public land'' means any land or 
                water that is--
                            (i) owned by the United States; and
                            (ii) managed by a Federal agency (including 
                        the Department of the Interior and the Forest 
                        Service) for purposes that include the 
                        conservation of natural resources.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term ``Federal public land'' 
                does not include any land or water held in trust for 
                the benefit of Indians or other Native Americans.
            (2) Hunting.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the term ``hunting'' means use of a firearm, bow, 
                or other authorized means in the lawful--
                            (i) pursuit, shooting, capture, collection, 
                        trapping, or killing of wildlife; or
                            (ii) attempt to pursue, shoot, capture, 
                        collect, trap, or kill wildlife.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term ``hunting'' does not 
                include the use of skilled volunteers to cull excess 
                animals (as defined by other Federal law, including 
                laws applicable to the National Park System).
            (3) Recreational fishing.--The term ``recreational 
        fishing'' means the lawful--
                    (A) pursuit, capture, collection, or killing of 
                fish; or
                    (B) attempt to capture, collect, or kill fish.
            (4) Recreational shooting.--The term ``recreational 
        shooting'' means any form of sport, training, competition, or 
        pastime, whether formal or informal, that involves the 
        discharge of a rifle, handgun, or shotgun, or the use of a bow 
        and arrow.

SEC. 4. RECREATIONAL FISHING, HUNTING, AND SHOOTING.

    (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights and subsection 
(g), and cooperation with the respective State and fish and wildlife 
agency, Federal public land management officials shall exercise their 
authority under existing law, including provisions regarding land use 
planning, to facilitate use of and access to Federal public lands and 
waters for fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting except as 
limited by--
            (1) statutory authority that authorizes action or 
        withholding action for reasons of national security, public 
        safety, or resource conservation;
            (2) any other Federal statute that specifically precludes 
        recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting on specific Federal 
        public lands, waters, or units thereof; and
            (3) discretionary limitations on recreational fishing, 
        hunting, and shooting determined to be necessary and reasonable 
        as supported by the best scientific evidence and advanced 
        through a transparent public process.
    (b) Management.--Consistent with subsection (a), the head of each 
Federal public land management agency shall exercise its land 
management discretion--
            (1) in a manner that supports and facilitates recreational 
        fishing, hunting, and shooting opportunities;
            (2) to the extent authorized under applicable State law; 
        and
            (3) in accordance with applicable Federal law.
    (c) Planning.--
            (1) Effects of plans and activities.--
                    (A) Evaluation of effects on opportunities to 
                engage in recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting.--
                Federal public land planning documents, including land 
                resources management plans, resource management plans, 
                travel management plans, general management plans, and 
                comprehensive conservation plans, shall include a 
                specific evaluation of the effects of such plans on 
                opportunities to engage in recreational fishing, 
                hunting, or shooting.
                    (B) Not major federal action.--No action taken 
                under this Act, or under section 4 of the National 
                Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 
                U.S.C. 668dd), either individually or cumulatively with 
                other actions involving Federal public lands, shall be 
                considered to be a major Federal action significantly 
                affecting the quality of the human environment, and no 
                additional identification, analysis, or consideration 
                of environmental effects, including cumulative effects, 
                is necessary or required.
                    (C) Other activity not considered.--The fact that 
                recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting occurs on 
                adjacent or nearby public or private lands shall not be 
                considered in determining which Federal public lands 
                are open for these activities or for setting levels of 
                use for these activities.
            (2) Use of volunteers.--If hunting is prohibited by law, 
        all Federal public land planning documents of listed in 
        paragraph (1)(A) of an agency shall, after appropriate 
        coordination with State fish and wildlife agency, allow the 
        participation of skilled volunteers in the culling and other 
        management of wildlife populations on Federal public lands 
        unless the head of the agency demonstrates, based on the best 
        scientific data available or applicable Federal statutes, why 
        skilled volunteers shall not be used to control overpopulations 
        of wildlife on the land that is the subject of the planning 
        documents.
    (d) Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service Lands.--
            (1) Lands open.--Lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau 
        of Land Management and the Forest Service, including lands 
        designated as wilderness or administratively classified as 
        wilderness eligible or suitable and primitive or semi-primitive 
        areas but excluding lands on the Outer Continental Shelf, shall 
        be open to recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting unless 
        the managing Federal agency acts to close lands to such 
        activity. Lands may be subject to closures or restrictions if 
        determined by the head of the agency to be necessary and 
        reasonable and supported by facts and evidence, for purposes 
        including resource conservation, public safety, energy or 
        mineral production, energy generation or transmission 
        infrastructure, water supply facilities, protection of other 
        permittees, protection of private property rights or interests, 
        national security, or compliance with other law. The head of 
        the agency shall publish public notice of such closure or 
        restriction before it is effective, unless the closure or 
        restriction is mandated by other law.
            (2) Shooting ranges.--
                    (A) In general.--The head of each Federal agency--
                            (i) may lease its lands for shooting 
                        ranges; and
                            (ii) may designate specific lands for 
                        recreational shooting activities.
                    (B) Limitation on liability.--Any designation under 
                subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not subject the United 
                States to any civil action or claim for monetary 
                damages for injury or loss of property or personal 
                injury or death caused by any activity occurring at or 
                on such designated lands.
    (e) Necessity in Wilderness Areas.--
            (1) The provision of opportunities for hunting, fishing and 
        recreational shooting, and the conservation of fish and 
        wildlife to provide sustainable use recreational opportunities 
        on designated wilderness areas on Federal public lands shall 
        constitute measures necessary to meet the minimum requirements 
        for the administration of the wilderness area.
            (2) The ``within and supplemental to'' Wilderness purposes, 
        as provided in Public Law 88-577, section 4(c), means that any 
        requirements imposed by that Act shall be implemented only 
        insofar as they facilitate or enhance the original or primary 
        purpose or purposes for which the Federal public lands or 
        Federal public land unit was established and do not materially 
        interfere with or hinder such purpose or purposes.
    (f) Annual Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than October 1 of each year, the 
        head of each Federal agency who has authority to manage Federal 
        public land on which fishing, hunting, or recreational shooting 
        occurs shall publish in the Federal Register and submit to the 
        Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
        a report that describes--
                    (A) any Federal public land administered by the 
                agency head that was closed to recreational fishing, 
                sport hunting, or shooting at any time during the 
                preceding year; and
                    (B) the reason for the closure.
            (2) Closures or significant restrictions of 640 or more 
        acres.--
                    (A) In general.--Other than closures under 
                subsection (c), the withdrawal, any change of 
                classification, or any change of management status that 
                effectively closes or significantly restricts 640 or 
                more contiguous acres of Federal public land or water 
                to access or use for fishing or hunting or activities 
                related to fishing and hunting (or both) shall take 
                effect only if, before the date of withdrawal or 
                change, the head of the Federal agency that has 
                jurisdiction over the Federal public land or water--
                            (i) publishes notice of the closure, 
                        withdrawal, or significant restriction;
                            (ii) demonstrates that coordination has 
                        occurred with a State fish and wildlife agency; 
                        and
                            (iii) submits to the Committee on Natural 
                        Resources of the House of Representatives and 
                        the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                        of the Senate written notice of the withdrawal, 
                        change, or significant restriction.
                    (B) Aggregate or cumulative effects.--If the 
                aggregate or cumulative effect of small closures or 
                significant restrictions affects 640 or more acres, 
                such small closures or significant restrictions shall 
                be subject to these requirements.
    (g) Areas Not Affected.--Nothing in this Act requires the opening 
of national park or national monuments under the jurisdiction of the 
National Park Service to hunting or recreational shooting.
    (h) No Priority.--Nothing in this Act requires a Federal agency to 
give preference to recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting over 
other uses of Federal public land or over land or water management 
priorities established by Federal law.
    (i) Consultation With Councils.--In fulfilling the duties set forth 
in this Act, the heads of Federal agencies shall consult with 
respective advisory councils as established in Executive Orders 12962 
and 13443.
    (j) Authority of the States.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed as 
        interfering with, diminishing, or conflicting with the 
        authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility of any State to 
        manage, control, or regulate fish and wildlife under State law 
        (including regulations) on land or water within the State, 
        including on Federal public land.
            (2) Federal licenses.--Nothing in this Act authorizes the 
        head of a Federal agency head to require a license or permit to 
        fish, hunt, or trap on land or water in a State, including on 
        Federal public land in the States, except that this paragraph 
        shall not affect the Migratory Bird Stamp requirement set forth 
        in the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (16 
        U.S.C. 718 et seq.).
                                 <all>
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