SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—RECREATIONAL FISHING AND HUNTING HERITAGE AND 
OPPORTUNITIES 
Sec. 101. Short title. 
Sec. 102. Findings. 
Sec. 103. Definition. 
Sec. 104. Recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting. 
TITLE II—RECREATIONAL SHOOTING PROTECTION 
Sec. 201. Short title. 
Sec. 202. Definitions. 
Sec. 203. Recreational shooting. 
TITLE III—POLAR BEAR CONSERVATION AND FAIRNESS 
Sec. 301. Short title. 
Sec. 302.
Permits for importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts 
in Canada. 
TITLE IV—HUNTING, FISHING, AND RECREATIONAL SHOOTING 
PROTECTION 
Sec. 401. Short title. 
Sec. 402. Modification of definition. 
TITLE V—HUNTING IN KISATCHIE NATIONAL FOREST 
Sec. 501. Hunting in Kisatchie National Forest. 
TITLE VI—DESIGNATION OF AND RESTRICTIONS ON NATIONAL 
MONUMENTS 
Sec. 601. Designation of and restrictions on national monuments.
TITLE I—RECREATIONAL FISH-
ING AND HUNTING HERITAGE 
AND OPPORTUNITIES 
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Recreational Fishing 
and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act’’. 
SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) recreational fishing and hunting are impor-
tant 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 conserva-
tion in the United States; 
(3) recreational fishing and hunting are envi-
ronmentally 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 gov-
ernments by investing volunteer time and effort to 
fish and wildlife conservation; 
(5) recreational anglers, hunters, and the asso-
ciated industries have generated billions of dollars of 
critical funding for fish and wildlife conservation, re-
search, and management by providing revenues from 
purchases of fishing and hunting licenses, permits, 
and stamps, as well as excise taxes on fishing, hunt-
ing, and shooting equipment that have generated bil-
lions of dollars of critical funding for fish and wild-
life conservation, research, and management; 
(6) recreational shooting is also an important 
and traditional activity in which millions of Ameri-
cans participate, safe recreational shooting is a valid 
use of Federal public lands, including the establish-
ment of safe and convenient shooting ranges on such 
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 participa-
tion in these traditional activities, and depressed 
participation adversely impacts fish and wildlife con-
servation and funding for important conservation ef-
forts; and
(8) the public interest would be served, and our 
citizens’ fish and wildlife resources benefitted, by ac-
tion to ensure that opportunities are facilitated to 
engage in fishing and hunting on Federal public 
land as recognized by Executive Order No. 12962, 
relating to recreational fisheries, and Executive 
Order No. 13443, relating to facilitation of hunting 
heritage and wildlife conservation. 
SEC. 103. DEFINITION. 
In this title: 
(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 (in-
cluding the Department of the Interior and 
the Forest Service) for purposes that in-
clude the conservation of natural resources. 
(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Federal pub-
lic 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, collec-
tion, trapping, or killing of wildlife; 
(ii) attempt to pursue, shoot, capture, 
collect, trap, or kill wildlife; or 
(iii) the training of hunting dogs, in-
cluding field trials. 
(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 ‘‘rec-
reational 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, hand-
gun, or shotgun, or the use of a bow and arrow.
SEC. 104. RECREATIONAL FISHING, HUNTING, AND SHOOT-
ING. 
(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 plan-
ning, to facilitate use of and access to Federal public 
lands, including Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Study 
Areas, or lands administratively classified as wilderness el-
igible or suitable and primitive or semi-primitive areas, 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 nec-
essary and reasonable as supported by the best sci-
entific 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 opportu-
nities; 
(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 OPPOR-
TUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN RECREATIONAL FISH-
ING, HUNTING, OR SHOOTING.—Federal public 
land planning documents, including land re-
sources management plans, resource manage-
ment plans, travel management plans, general 
management plans, and comprehensive con-
servation plans, shall include a specific evalua-
tion of the effects of such plans on opportuni-
ties to engage in recreational fishing, hunting, 
or shooting. 
(B) NOT
MAJOR
FEDERAL
ACTION.—No 
action taken under this title, or under section 
4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad-
ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd), as 
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge Sys-
tem Improvement Act of 1997, either individ-
ually or cumulatively with other actions involv-
ing 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 consider-
ation of environmental effects, including cumu-
lative effects, is necessary or required. 
(C) OTHER ACTIVITY NOT CONSIDERED.— 
Federal public land management officials are 
not required to consider the existence or avail-
ability of recreational fishing, hunting, or shoot-
ing opportunities on adjacent or nearby public 
or private lands in the planning for or deter-
mination of which Federal public lands are 
open for these activities or in the setting of lev-
els of use for these activities on Federal public 
lands, unless the combination or coordination of 
such opportunities would enhance the rec-
reational fishing, hunting, or shooting opportu-
nities available to the public. 
(2) USE OF VOLUNTEERS.—If hunting is pro-
hibited by law, all Federal public land planning doc-
uments listed in paragraph (1)(A) of an agency 
shall, after appropriate coordination with State fish 
and wildlife agencies, allow the participation of 
skilled volunteers in the culling and other manage-
ment 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 jurisdic-
tion of the Bureau of Land Management and the 
Forest Service, including Wilderness Areas, Wilder-
ness Study Areas, 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 shoot-
ing 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 includ-
ing resource conservation, public safety, energy or 
mineral production, energy generation or trans-
mission infrastructure, water supply facilities, pro-
tection of other permittees, protection of private 
property rights or interests, national security, or 
compliance with other law. 
(2) SHOOTING RANGES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Fed-
eral agency shall use his or her authorities in 
a manner consistent with this Act and other ap-
plicable law, to— 
(i) lease or permit use of lands under 
the jurisdiction of the agency for shooting 
ranges; and 
(ii) designate specific lands under the 
jurisdiction of the agency for recreational 
shooting activities. 
(B) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Any des-
ignation 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 des-
ignated lands.
(e) NECESSITY IN WILDERNESS AREAS AND ‘‘WITH-
IN AND SUPPLEMENTAL TO’’ WILDERNESS PURPOSES.— 
(1) MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
ADMINIS-
TRATION.—The provision of opportunities for hunt-
ing, fishing and recreational shooting, and the con-
servation of fish and wildlife to provide sustainable 
use recreational opportunities on designated wilder-
ness areas on Federal public lands shall constitute 
measures necessary to meet the minimum require-
ments for the administration of the wilderness area. 
(2) The term ‘‘within and supplemental to’’ 
Wilderness purposes in section 4(a) of Public Law 
88–577, means that any requirements imposed by 
that Act shall be implemented only insofar as they 
do not prevent Federal public land management offi-
cials and State fish and wildlife officials from car-
rying out their wildlife conservation responsibilities 
or providing recreational opportunities on the Fed-
eral public lands subject to a wilderness designation. 
(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) are not intended to 
authorize or facilitate commodity development, use, 
or extraction, or motorized recreational access or 
use. 
(f) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of every other 
year, beginning with the second October 1 after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal 
agency who has authority to manage Federal public land 
on which fishing, hunting, or recreational shooting occurs 
shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that 
describes— 
(1) 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 
(2) the reason for the closure. 
(g) CLOSURES OR SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS OF 
640 OR MORE ACRES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Other than closures estab-
lished or prescribed by land planning actions re-
ferred to in subsection (d) or emergency closures de-
scribed in paragraph (3) of this subsection, a perma-
nent or temporary withdrawal, change of classifica-
tion, or change of management status of Federal 
public land that effectively closes or significantly re-
stricts 640 or more contiguous acres of Federal pub-
lic land to access or use for fishing or hunting or ac-
tivities 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 ju-
risdiction over the Federal public land— 
(A) publishes appropriate notice of the 
withdrawal or change, respectively; 
(B) demonstrates that coordination has oc-
curred with a State fish and wildlife agency; 
and 
(C) submits to the Committee on Natural 
Resources of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
sources of the Senate written notice of the with-
drawal or change, respectively. 
(2) AGGREGATE OR CUMULATIVE EFFECTS.—If 
the aggregate or cumulative effect of separate with-
drawals or changes effectively closes or significantly 
restricts 1280 or more acres of land or water, such 
withdrawals and changes shall be treated as a single 
withdrawal or change for purposes of paragraph (1). 
(3) EMERGENCY CLOSURES.—Nothing in this 
Act prohibits a Federal land management agency 
from establishing or implementing emergency clo-
sures or restrictions of the smallest practicable area 
to provide for public safety, resource conservation, 
national security, or other purposes authorized by 
law. Such an emergency closure shall terminate after
a reasonable period of time unless converted to a 
permanent closure consistent with this Act. 
(4) NATIONAL
WILDLIFE
REFUGE
SYSTEM.— 
Nothing in this Act is intended to amend or modify 
the provisions of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys-
tem Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd 
et seq.), except as expressly provided herein. 
(h) AREAS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in this title re-
quires the opening of national park or national monu-
ments under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service 
to hunting or recreational shooting. 
(i) NO PRIORITY.—Nothing in this title 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. 
(j) CONSULTATION WITH COUNCILS.—In fulfilling 
the duties set forth in this title, the heads of Federal agen-
cies shall consult with respective advisory councils as es-
tablished in Executive Order Nos. 12962 and 13443. 
(k) AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this title shall be 
construed as interfering with, diminishing, or con-
flicting with the authority, jurisdiction, or responsi-
bility of any State to manage, control, or regulate
fish and wildlife under State law (including regula-
tions) on land or water within the State, including 
on Federal public land. 
(2) FEDERAL LICENSES.—Nothing in this title 
authorizes the head of a Federal agency head to re-
quire a license, fee, 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 require-
ment set forth in the Migratory Bird Hunting and 
Conservation Stamp Act (16 U.S.C. 718 et seq.). 
TITLE II—RECREATIONAL 
SHOOTING PROTECTION 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Recreational Shooting 
Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. 
(2) NATIONAL
MONUMENT
LAND.—The term 
‘‘National Monument land’’ has the meaning given 
that term in the Act of June 8, 1908 (commonly 
known as the ‘‘Antiquities Act’’; 16 U.S.C. 431 et 
seq.).
(3) 
RECREATIONAL
SHOOTING.—The 
term 
‘‘recreational shooting’’ includes any form of sport, 
training, competition, or pastime, whether formal or 
informal, that involves the discharge of a rifle, hand-
gun, or shotgun, or the use of a bow and arrow. 
SEC. 203. RECREATIONAL SHOOTING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 
National Monument land under the jurisdiction of the Bu-
reau of Land Management shall be open to access and 
use for recreational shooting, except such closures and re-
strictions determined by the Director to be necessary and 
reasonable and supported by facts and evidence for one 
or more of the following: 
(1) Reasons of national security. 
(2) Reasons of public safety. 
(3) To comply with an applicable Federal stat-
ute. 
(4) To comply with a law (including regula-
tions) of the State in which the National Monument 
land is located that is applicable to recreational 
shooting. 
(b) NOTICE; REPORT.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Except as set forth in 
paragraph (2)(B), before a restriction or closure
under subsection (a) is made effective, the Director 
shall— 
(A) publish public notice of such closure or 
restriction in a newspaper of general circulation 
in the area where the closure or restriction will 
be carried out; and 
(B) submit to Congress a report detailing 
the location and extent of, and evidence justi-
fying, such a closure or restriction. 
(2) TIMING.—The Director shall issue the no-
tice and report required under paragraph (1)— 
(A) before the closure if practicable with-
out risking national security or public safety; 
and 
(B) in cases where such issuance is not 
practicable for reasons of national security or 
public safety, not later than 30 days after the 
closure. 
(c) CESSATION OF CLOSURE OR RESTRICTION.—A 
closure or restriction under paragraph (1) or (2) of sub-
section (a) shall cease to be effective— 
(1) effective on the day after the last day of the 
six-month period beginning on the date on which the 
Director submitted the report to Congress under 
subsection (b)(2) regarding the closure or restric-