IB 

Union Calendar No. 442 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2834 

[Report No. 112–609, Part I] 

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 

JULY 19, 2012 

Additional sponsors: Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, Mr. COLE, Mr. HUIZENGA of 

Michigan, Mr. BARLETTA, Mr. POSEY, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. 

HULTGREN, Ms. JENKINS, Mr. POMPEO, Mr. LATTA, Mr. MCCOTTER, 

Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, 

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. HUELSKAMP, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, 

Mr. KLINE, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. SCHILLING, Mr. HECK, 

Mr. AMODEI, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. AUSTRIA, Mrs. 

ELLMERS, Mr. ROSS of Arkansas, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. LATHAM, Ms. 

BUERKLE, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. ROKITA, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. NUGENT, Mr. 

BUCHANAN, Mr. REHBERG, Mrs. ADAMS, Mr. HANNA, Mr. BROUN of 

Georgia, Mr. CRAVAACK, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, 

Mr. STIVERS, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. 

MCINTYRE, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. MANZULLO, 

Mr. HUNTER, and Mr. CANSECO

JULY 19, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 


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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JULY 19, 2012 

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 2, 2011] 

A BILL 

To recognize the heritage of recreational fishing, hunting, 

and shooting on Federal public lands and ensure continued opportunities for these activities. 


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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 Fishing 

5 and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) recreational fishing and hunting are impor9 tant and traditional activities in which millions of 

10 Americans participate; 

11 (2) recreational anglers and hunters have been 

12 and continue to be among the foremost supporters of 

13 sound fish and wildlife management and conservation 

14 in the United States; 

15 (3) recreational fishing and hunting are environ16 mentally acceptable and beneficial activities that 

17 occur and can be provided on Federal public lands 

18 and waters without adverse effects on other uses or 

19 users; 

20 (4) recreational anglers, hunters, and sporting 

21 organizations provide direct assistance to fish and 

22 wildlife managers and enforcement officers of the Fed23 eral Government as well as State and local govern24 ments by investing volunteer time and effort to fish 

25 and wildlife conservation; 


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1 (5) recreational anglers, hunters, and the associ2 ated industries have generated billions of dollars of 

3 critical funding for fish and wildlife conservation, re4 search, and management by providing revenues from 

5 purchases of fishing and hunting licenses, permits, 

6 and stamps, as well as excise taxes on fishing, hunt7 ing, and shooting equipment that have generated bil8 lions of dollars of critical funding for fish and wild9 life conservation, research, and management; 

10 (6) recreational shooting is also an important 

11 and traditional activity in which millions of Ameri12 cans participate, safe recreational shooting is a valid 

13 use of Federal public lands, including the establish14 ment of safe and convenient shooting ranges on such 

15 lands and participation in recreational shooting helps 

16 recruit and retain hunters and contributes to wildlife 

17 conservation; 

18 (7) opportunities to recreationally fish, hunt, 

19 and shoot are declining, which depresses participation 

20 in these traditional activities, and depressed partici21 pation adversely impacts fish and wildlife conserva22 tion and funding for important conservation efforts; 

23 and 

24 (8) the public interest would be served, and our 

25 citizens’ fish and wildlife resources benefitted, by acVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:24 Jul 19, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2834.RH H2834

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1 tion to ensure that opportunities are facilitated to en2 gage in fishing and hunting on Federal public land 

3 as recognized by Executive Order 12962, relating to 

4 recreational fisheries, and Executive Order 13443, re5 lating to facilitation of hunting heritage and wildlife 

6 conservation. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITION. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND.— 

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

11 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘Federal public 

12 land’’ means any land or water that is— 

13 (i) owned by the United States; and 

14 (ii) managed by a Federal agency (in15 cluding the Department of the Interior and 

16 the Forest Service) for purposes that include 

17 the conservation of natural resources. 

18 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Federal public 

19 land’’ does not include any land or water held 

20 in trust for the benefit of Indians or other Native 

21 Americans. 

22 (2) HUNTING.— 

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

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


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1 use of a firearm, bow, or other authorized means 

2 in the lawful— 

3 (i) pursuit, shooting, capture, collec4 tion, trapping, or killing of wildlife; 

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

6 collect, trap, or kill wildlife; or 

7 (iii) the training of hunting dogs in8 cluding field trials. 

9 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘hunting’’ does 

10 not include the use of skilled volunteers to cull 

11 excess animals (as defined by other Federal law, 

12 including laws applicable to the National Park 

13 System). 

14 (3) RECREATIONAL FISHING.—The term ‘‘rec15 reational fishing’’ means the lawful— 

16 (A) pursuit, capture, collection, or killing of 

17 fish; or 

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

19 (4) RECREATIONAL SHOOTING.—The term ‘‘rec20 reational shooting’’ means any form of sport, train21 ing, competition, or pastime, whether formal or infor22 mal, that involves the discharge of a rifle, handgun, 

23 or shotgun, or the use of a bow and arrow. 


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1 SEC. 4. RECREATIONAL FISHING, HUNTING, AND SHOOT2 ING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights and 

4 subsection (g), and cooperation with the respective State 

5 and fish and wildlife agency, Federal public land manage6 ment officials shall exercise their authority under existing 

7 law, including provisions regarding land use planning, to 

8 facilitate use of and access to Federal public lands and 

9 waters for fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting 

10 except as limited by— 

11 (1) statutory authority that authorizes action or 

12 withholding action for reasons of national security, 

13 public safety, or resource conservation; 

14 (2) any other Federal statute that specifically 

15 precludes recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting on 

16 specific Federal public lands, waters, or units thereof; 

17 and 

18 (3) discretionary limitations on recreational 

19 fishing, hunting, and shooting determined to be nec20 essary and reasonable as supported by the best sci21 entific evidence and advanced through a transparent 

22 public process. 

23 (b) MANAGEMENT.—Consistent with subsection (a), the 

24 head of each Federal public land management agency shall 

25 exercise its land management discretion— 


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1 (1) in a manner that supports and facilitates 

2 recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting opportuni3 ties; 

4 (2) to the extent authorized under applicable 

5 State law; and 

6 (3) in accordance with applicable Federal law. 

7 (c) PLANNING.— 

8 (1) EFFECTS OF PLANS AND ACTIVITIES.— 

9 (A) EVALUATION OF EFFECTS ON OPPORTU10 NITIES TO ENGAGE IN RECREATIONAL FISHING, 

11 HUNTING, OR SHOOTING.—Federal public land 

12 planning documents, including land resources 

13 management plans, resource management plans, 

14 travel management plans, general management 

15 plans, and comprehensive conservation plans, 

16 shall include a specific evaluation of the effects 

17 of such plans on opportunities to engage in rec18 reational fishing, hunting, or shooting. 

19 (B) NOT MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.—No ac20 tion taken under this section, other than an ac21 tion under subsection (d)(2) or (g), or under sec22 tion 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System 

23 Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd), 

24 either individually or cumulatively with other 

25 actions involving Federal public lands, shall be 


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1 considered to be a major Federal action signifi2 cantly affecting the quality of the human envi3 ronment, and no additional identification, anal4 ysis, or consideration of environmental effects, 

5 including cumulative effects, is necessary or re6 quired. 

7 (C) OTHER ACTIVITY NOT CONSIDERED.— 

8 Federal public land management officials are 

9 not required to consider the existence or avail10 ability of recreational fishing, hunting, or shoot11 ing opportunities on adjacent or nearby public 

12 or private lands in the planning for or deter13 mination of which Federal public lands are open 

14 for these activities or in the setting of levels of 

15 use for these activities on Federal public lands, 

16 unless the combination or coordination of such 

17 opportunities would enhance the recreational 

18 fishing, hunting, or shooting opportunities avail19 able to the public. 

20 (2) USE OF VOLUNTEERS.—If hunting is prohib21 ited by law, all Federal public land planning docu22 ments listed in paragraph (1)(A) of an agency shall, 

23 after appropriate coordination with State fish and 

24 wildlife agency, allow the participation of skilled vol25 unteers in the culling and other management of wildVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:24 Jul 19, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2834.RH H2834

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1 life populations on Federal public lands unless the 

2 head of the agency demonstrates, based on the best sci3 entific data available or applicable Federal statutes, 

4 why skilled volunteers shall not be used to control 

5 overpopulations of wildlife on the land that is the 

6 subject of the planning documents. 

7 (d) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND FOREST

8 SERVICE LANDS.— 

9 (1) LANDS OPEN.—Lands under the jurisdiction 

10 of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 

11 Service, including lands designated as wilderness or 

12 administratively classified as wilderness eligible or 

13 suitable and primitive or semi-primitive areas but ex14 cluding lands on the Outer Continental Shelf, shall be 

15 open to recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting 

16 unless the managing Federal agency acts to close 

17 lands to such activity. Lands may be subject to clo18 sures or restrictions if determined by the head of the 

19 agency to be necessary and reasonable and supported 

20 by facts and evidence, for purposes including resource 

21 conservation, public safety, energy or mineral produc22 tion, energy generation or transmission infrastruc23 ture, water supply facilities, protection of other per24 mittees, protection of private property rights or inter25 ests, national security, or compliance with other law. 


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1 (2) SHOOTING RANGES.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Federal 

3 agency shall use his or her authorities in a man4 ner consistent with this Act, and other applicable 

5 law, to— 

6 (i) lease or permit use of lands of the 

7 agency for shooting ranges; and 

8 (ii) designate specific lands of the 

9 agency for recreational shooting activities. 

10 (B) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Any des11 ignation under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not 

12 subject the United States to any civil action or 

13 claim for monetary damages for injury or loss of 

14 property or personal injury or death caused by 

15 any activity occurring at or on such designated 

16 lands. 

17 (e) NECESSITY IN WILDERNESS AREAS.— 

18 (1) The provision of opportunities for hunting, 

19 fishing and recreational shooting, and the conserva20 tion of fish and wildlife to provide sustainable use 

21 recreational opportunities on designated wilderness 

22 areas on Federal public lands shall constitute meas23 ures necessary to meet the minimum requirements for 

24 the administration of the wilderness area. 


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1 (2) The phrase ‘‘within and supplemental to’’ 

2 Wilderness purposes, as originally enacted in section 

3 4(c) of Public Law 88–577, means that any require4 ments imposed by that Act shall be implemented only 

5 insofar as they do not prevent Federal public land 

6 management officials and State fish and wildlife offi7 cials from carrying out and facilitating the original 

8 or primary purposes for which the Federal public 

9 lands or Federal public land unit was established. 

10 Such phrase is not intended to authorize or facilitate 

11 commodity development, use, or extraction, motorized 

12 recreation access, or comparable non-hunting, fishing 

13 and trapping activities. 

14 (f) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of every other 

15 year, beginning with the second October 1 after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal agency 

17 who has authority to manage Federal public land on which 

18 fishing, hunting, or recreational shooting occurs shall sub19 mit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

20 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat21 ural Resources of the Senate a report that describes— 

22 (1) any Federal public land administered by the 

23 agency head that was closed to recreational fishing, 

24 sport hunting, or shooting at any time during the 

25 preceding year; and 


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1 (2) the reason for the closure. 

2 (g) CLOSURES OR SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS OF 640 

3 OR MORE ACRES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Other than closures estab5 lished or prescribed by land planning actions referred 

6 to in subsection (d) or emergency closures described in 

7 paragraph (3) of this subsection, a permanent or tem8 porary withdrawal, change of classification, or change 

9 of management status of Federal public land or water 

10 that effectively closes or significantly restricts 640 or 

11 more contiguous acres of Federal public land or water 

12 to access or use for fishing or hunting or activities re13 lated to fishing and hunting (or both) shall take effect 

14 only if, before the date of withdrawal or change, the 

15 head of the Federal agency that has jurisdiction over 

16 the Federal public land or water— 

17 (A) publishes appropriate notice of the 

18 withdrawal or change, respectively; 

19 (B) demonstrates that coordination has oc20 curred with a State fish and wildlife agency; 

21 and 

22 (C) submits to the Committee on Natural 

23 Resources of the House of Representatives and 

24 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 


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1 of the Senate written notice of the withdrawal or 

2 change, respectively. 

3 (2) AGGREGATE OR CUMULATIVE EFFECTS.—If 

4 the aggregate or cumulative effect of separate with5 drawals or changes effectively closes or significantly 

6 restricts 1280 or more acres of land or water, such 

7 withdrawals and changes shall be treated as a single 

8 withdrawal or change for purposes of paragraph (1). 

9 (3) EMERGENCY CLOSURES.—Nothing in this 

10 Act prohibits a Federal land management agency 

11 from establishing or implementing emergency closures 

12 or restrictions of the smallest practicable area to pro13 vide for public safety, resource conservation, national 

14 security, or other purposes authorized by law. Such 

15 an emergency closure shall terminate after a reason16 able period of time unless converted to a permanent 

17 closure consistent with this Act. 

18 (h) AREAS NOT AFFECTED.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act requires 

20 the opening of national park or national monuments 

21 under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service to 

22 hunting or recreational shooting. 

23 (2) NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.— 

24 Nothing in this Act is intended to amend or modify 

25 the provisions of the National Wildlife Refuge System 


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1 Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), 

2 except as expressly provided herein. 

3 (i) NO PRIORITY.—Nothing in this Act requires a Fed4 eral agency to give preference to recreational fishing, hunt5 ing, or shooting over other uses of Federal public land or 

6 over land or water management priorities established by 

7 Federal law. 

8 (j) CONSULTATION WITH COUNCILS.—In fulfilling the 

9 duties set forth in this Act, the heads of Federal agencies 

10 shall consult with respective advisory councils as established 

11 in Executive Orders 12962 and 13443. 

12 (k) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

14 construed as interfering with, diminishing, or con15 flicting with the authority, jurisdiction, or responsi16 bility of any State to manage, control, or regulate fish 

17 and wildlife under State law (including regulations) 

18 on land or water within the State, including on Fed19 eral public land. 

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

21 authorizes the head of a Federal agency head to re22 quire a license, fee, or permit to fish, hunt, or trap 

23 on land or water in a State, including on Federal 

24 public land in the States, except that this paragraph 

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1 ment set forth in the Migratory Bird Hunting and 

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


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Union Calendar No. 442 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2834 

[Report No. 112–609, Part I] 

A BILL 

To recognize the heritage of recreational fishing, 

tivities. and ensure continued opportunities for these achunting, and shooting on Federal public lands 

JULY 19, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

J

an amendment 

ULY 19, 2012 

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to 

Union and ordered to be printed the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 


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