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 consider-
ation 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sportsmen’s Bill of
Rights Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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(1) fishing is an important and traditional rec-
reational activity in which 36,000,000 Americans 16
years old and older participate;
(2) hunting is an important and traditional rec-
reational activity in which 14,000,000 Americans 16
years old and older participate;
(3) survey data from a recent comprehensive 3-
year study entitled ‘‘Factors Related to Hunting and
Fishing Participation in the United States’’ suggest
that 95 percent of Americans agreed fishing should
remain legal and 81 percent agreed hunting should
remain legal;
(4) anglers and hunters have been and continue
to be among the foremost supporters of sound wild-
life management and conservation practices in the
United States;
(5) persons who hunt or fish and organizations
related to those activities provide direct assistance to
wildlife managers and enforcement officers of Fed-
eral, State, and local governments;
(6) funds raised through license, permit, and
stamp purchases as well as through excise taxes on
goods used by anglers and hunters have generated
more than $6,000,000,000 for wildlife research and
management; and
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(7) fishing and hunting are essential compo-
nents of effective wildlife management in that they
tend to reduce conflicts between people and wildlife
and provide incentives for the conservation of wild-
life and habitats and ecosystems on which wildlife
depends.
(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States
that in performing duties under Federal law, all Federal
agencies that have authority to manage a natural resource
or the land and water on which a natural resource depends
shall exercise the authority in a manner so as to support,
promote, and enhance opportunities for fishing and hunt-
ing.
SEC. 3. TAKING OF FISH AND WILDLIFE ON FEDERAL
LANDS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Federal land shall be open to ac-
cess and use for fishing and hunting unless—
(1) the responsible agency of the State in which
the Federal land is located limits access to and use
of the land as part of wildlife management by the
State; or
(2) the Federal agency responsible for Federal
public land limits access and use—
(A) for reasons of national security; or
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(B) for reasons related to specific statutory
requirements regarding the management and
use of the land, if the requirements are clearly
and directly incompatible with fishing or hunt-
ing.
(b) NO PRIORITY.—This section does not require a
Federal agency to give preference to fishing or hunting
over other uses of Federal land or land management prior-
ities established in Federal law.
(c) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act impairs
the primacy of State authority in regulating the tak-
ing of fish and wildlife on land within the State, in-
cluding Federal land.
(2) FEDERAL AUTHORITY.—Except as expressly
provided by Act of Congress, the authority of a Fed-
eral agency regarding the taking of fish and wildlife
on Federal land managed by the Federal agency
shall be no greater than the rights of a private
owner of land.
SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORTS-
MEN’S TRUST ACCOUNTS.
(a) FUNDING OF PLANS AND PROJECTS.—
(1) FEDERAL AID IN WILDLIFE RESTORATION
ACT.—The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide that the
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United States shall aid the States in wildlife-restora-
tion projects, and for other purposes’’, approved
September 2, 1937 (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.; com-
monly known as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restora-
tion Act), is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary
of the Interior’’; and
(B) in section 4 by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(c) The amount of funding made available to the
Secretary of the Interior for expenses under this section
shall not be available for use as a supplement to decreased
funding for any other expense under the authority of the
Secretary of the Interior.’’.
(2) FEDERAL
AID
IN
FISH
RESTORATION
ACT.—Section 4 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro-
vide that the United States shall aid the States in
fish restoration and management projects, and for
other purposes’’, approved August 9, 1950 (16
U.S.C. 777c; commonly known as the Federal Aid in
Fish Restoration Act), is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(f) The amount of funding made available to the
Secretary of the Interior for expenses under this section
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shall not be available for use as a supplement to decreased
funding for any other expense under the authority of the
Secretary of the Interior.’’.
SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT EFFECTS.
(a) STATEMENT.—No Federal agency action that
may significantly diminish opportunities or access to en-
gage in fishing or hunting on Federal land shall be effec-
tive until the agency prepares a detailed statement evalu-
ating the effect of the action on fishing and hunting.
(b) NOTICE AND HEARING.—Before taking an action
described in subsection (a), a Federal agency shall—
(1) provide notice of the proposed agency action
to the appropriate State agency responsible for the
conduct or oversight of fish and wildlife manage-
ment; and
(2) conduct a public hearing in the vicinity of
the proposed action.
(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An individual or entity that
may be adversely affected by a loss of fishing or hunting
opportunities on Federal land as a result of an agency ac-
tion described in subsection (a) may bring a civil action
in a United States district court for review of the action.
(d) EMERGENCIES.—Nothing in this section pre-
cludes an agency from exercising statutory authority to
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close Federal lands in an emergency or other exigent cir-
cumstances.
(e) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this sec-
tion affects or has application to the Migratory Bird Trea-
ty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.) or the Magnuson Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq.).
SEC. 6. CLARIFICATIONS RELATING TO MAINTENANCE OF
FISHING AND HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES.
(a) 
DEFINITION
OF
POINT
SOURCE.—Section
502(14) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1362(14)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘means’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(A) means’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘discharged.’’ and inserting
‘‘discharged; but’’; and
(3) by striking ‘‘This term does not include ag-
ricultural stormwater’’ and all that follows through
the end of the sentence and inserting the following:
‘‘(B) does not include—
‘‘(i) 
agricultural 
stormwater 
dis-
charges and return flows from irrigated
agriculture; or
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‘‘(ii) any conveyance that serves the
purposes of directly assisting individuals
engaged in fishing, hunting, or recreational
shooting.’’.
(b) 
DREDGED
OR
FILL
MATERIAL.—Section
404(f)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1344(f)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking the comma at the end of sub-
paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(G) resulting from the conduct of fishing,
hunting, or recreational shooting,’’.
SEC. 7. PROMOTION OF FISHING AND HUNTING BY FED-
ERAL AGENCIES.
Each Federal agency, in carrying out the Act entitled
‘‘An Act to provide that the United States shall aid States
in wildlife-restoration projects, and for other purposes’’,
approved September 2, 1937 (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.; com-
monly known as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration
Act), or the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide that the Unit-
ed States shall aid the States in fish restoration and man-
agement projects, and for other purposes’’, approved Au-
gust 9, 1950 (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.; commonly known
as the Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act), shall seek
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to enhance existing programs and services and establish
new programs and services that promote fishing and hunt-
ing.
SEC. 8. CIVIL ACTIONS.
(a) INTERVENTION.—A person interested in fishing
or hunting shall be entitled to intervene as a matter of
right in a civil action brought under any other Federal
law relating to the use of any Federal land in which the
plaintiff seeks an order that would require the use (or
nonuse) of the land in such a manner as to impair access
to or use of the land for the purpose of fishing or hunting
as required by this Act.
(b) CONSIDERATION OF INTERESTS.—If an interve-
nor under subsection (a) shows that the application of an-
other Federal law as sought by the plaintiff would be likely
to impair access to or use of the land for the purpose of
fishing or hunting as required by this Act, the court shall
not grant the relief sought unless the plaintiff shows that
the interest intended to be advanced by the other Federal
law clearly outweighs the interest of protecting access to
and use of Federal land for fishing and hunting.
SEC. 9. STANDING TO BRING A CIVIL ACTION.
An individual who is licensed by a State to engage
in fishing or hunting, or an organization representing the
interests of such individuals, may bring a civil action in
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a United States district court to seek declaratory or in-
junctive relief regarding the implementation of any provi-
sion of this Act, including a declaration that a civil action
brought by another person may significantly disrupt or
eliminate opportunities for fishing or hunting and an in-
junction against the prosecution of the civil action.
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