I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3046 

To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide opportunities for continued 

hunting on Federal public land. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2009 

Mr. REHBERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide 

opportunities for continued hunting on 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 ‘‘Hunting Heritage Pro5 tection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) hunting is an important and traditional rec9 reational activity in which 13,000,000 people in the 

10 United States 16 years of age and older participate; 


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1 (2) hunters have been and continue to be 

2 among the foremost supporters of sound wildlife 

3 management and conservation practices in the 

4 United States; 

5 (3) persons who hunt and organizations relating 

6 to hunting provide direct assistance to wildlife man7 agers and enforcement officers of the Federal Gov8 ernment and State and local governments; 

9 (4) purchases of hunting licenses, permits, and 

10 stamps and excise taxes on goods used by hunters 

11 have generated billions of dollars for wildlife con12 servation, research, and management; 

13 (5) hunting is an essential component of effec14 tive wildlife management by— 

15 (A) reducing conflicts between people and 

16 wildlife; 

17 (B) balancing wildlife populations with the 

18 natural carrying capacity of the land; and 

19 (C) providing incentives for the conserva20 tion of— 

21 (i) wildlife; and 

22 (ii) habitats and ecosystems on which 

23 wildlife depend; 

24 (6) each State has established at least 1 agency 

25 staffed by professionally trained wildlife manageVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:37 Jun 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3046.IH H3046

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1 ment personnel that has legal authority to manage 

2 the wildlife in the State; and 

3 (7) hunting is an environmentally beneficial ac4 tivity that occurs, and can be provided for, on Fed5 eral public land without adverse effects on other 

6 uses of the land. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 

10 means the head of any Federal agency that has au11 thority to manage a natural resource or Federal 

12 public land. 

13 (2) FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 

15 public land’’ means any land or water that is— 

16 (i) publicly accessible; 

17 (ii) owned by the United States; and 

18 (iii) managed by an executive agency 

19 for purposes that include the conservation 

20 of natural resources. 

21 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Federal pub22 lic land’’ does not include any land held in trust 

23 for the benefit of an Indian tribe or member of 

24 an Indian tribe. 


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1 (3) HUNTING.—The term ‘‘hunting’’ means the 

2 lawful pursuit, trapping, shooting, capture, collec3 tion, or killing of wildlife. 

4 SEC. 4. HUNTING. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to existing rights, Federal 

6 public land shall be open to access and use for hunting 

7 except as limited by— 

8 (1) the agency head with jurisdiction over the 

9 Federal public land— 

10 (A) for reasons of national security; 

11 (B) for reasons of public safety; or 

12 (C) for any other reasons for limiting ac13 cess authorized by applicable Federal law; and 

14 (2) any law of the State in which the Federal 

15 public land is located that is applicable to hunting. 

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

17 to the extent authorized under State law, and in accord18 ance with applicable Federal law, each agency head shall 

19 manage Federal public land under the jurisdiction of the 

20 agency head in a manner that supports, promotes, and 

21 enhances access for hunting. 

22 (c) NO NET LOSS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency head shall, to 

24 the maximum extent practicable, ensure that Fed25 eral public land management decisions and actions 


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1 result in no net loss of land area accessible for hunt2 ing on Federal public land. 

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

4 1 of each year, each agency head with authority to 

5 manage Federal public land on which hunting occurs 

6 shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri7 tion, and Forestry and the Committee on Energy 

8 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com9 mittee on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural 

10 Resources of the House of Representatives a report 

11 that describes— 

12 (A)(i) any Federal public land adminis13 tered by the agency head in which access for 

14 hunting was limited at any time during the year 

15 as compared to access available during the pre16 vious year; and 

17 (ii) the reason for the limitation; and 

18 (B) areas administered by the agency head 

19 that were opened to hunting to compensate for 

20 the limitations of the areas described in sub21 paragraph (A)(i). 

22 (3) CLOSURES OF 5,000 OR MORE ACRES.—The 

23 withdrawal, change of classification, or change of 

24 management status that effectively closes or limits 

25 access to 5,000 or more acres of Federal public land 


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1 for hunting shall take effect only if, before the date 

2 of withdrawal or change, the agency head that has 

3 jurisdiction over the Federal public land submits to 

4 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For5 estry and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re6 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Agri7 culture and the Committee on Natural Resources of 

8 the House of Representatives written notice of the 

9 withdrawal or change. 

10 (d) AREAS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in this Act 

11 compels the opening to hunting of national parks or na12 tional monuments under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 

13 of the Interior. 

14 (e) NO PRIORITY.—Nothing in this Act requires a 

15 Federal agency to give preference to hunting over other 

16 uses of Federal public land or over land or water manage17 ment priorities established by Federal law. 

18 (f) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.— 

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

20 authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility of a State to 

21 manage, control, or regulate fish and wildlife under 

22 State law on land or water in the State, including 

23 Federal public land. 

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

25 authorizes an agency head to require a license or 


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1 permit to hunt, fish, or trap on land or water in a 

2 State, including on Federal public land in the State. 

3 (3) STATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

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

5 the failure of an agency head or employee to 

6 comply with this Act may bring a civil action in 

7 the United States District Court for the district 

8 in which the failure occurs for a permanent in9 junction. 

10 (B) PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION.—If the 

11 district court determines, based on the facts, 

12 that a preliminary injunction is appropriate, the 

13 district court may grant a preliminary injunc14 tion. 

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

16 issues an injunction under this paragraph or 

17 otherwise finds in favor of the State, the dis18 trict court shall award to the State any reason19 able costs of bringing the civil action (including 

20 an attorney’s fee). 

Æ 


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