Sportsmen's Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3525
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2012-09-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Appropriations
Aquatic ecology
Art, artists, authorship
Birds
Canada
Chesapeake Bay
Congressional oversight
Delaware
Ecology
Endangered and threatened species
Firearms and explosives
Fishes
Forests, forestry, trees
Government liability
Government trust funds
Gulf of Mexico
Hawaii
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Hunting and fishing
Indian lands and resources rights
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Licensing and registrations
Louisiana
Mammals
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Maryland
North Carolina
Oregon
Outdoor recreation
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Postal service
Public-private cooperation
Reptiles
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Solid waste and recycling
Sports and recreation facilities
State and local government operations
Tax-exempt organizations
Trade restrictions
U.S. territories and protectorates
Virginia
Washington State
Wetlands
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2012-09-10
text: 
Sportsmen's Act of 2012 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure that not less than 1.5% of the amounts made available for the Land and Water Conservation Fund for each fiscal year shall be made available for certain projects identified on an annual priority list to be developed pursuant to this Act. Requires such projects to secure, through rights-of-way or the acquisition of lands or interests from willing sellers, recreational public access to existing federal public lands that have significantly restricted access to hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes. 
 
Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue a permit for the importation of any polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a polar bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any person who meets specified requirements. 
 
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to permit individuals carrying bows and crossbows to traverse national park land if the traverse is: (1) for the sole purpose of hunting on adjacent land, and (2) the most direct means of access to such adjacent land.
 
Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act - Amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to: (1) authorize a state to pay up to 90% of the costs of acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public target range; (2) authorize a state to elect to allocate 10% of a specified amount apportioned to it from the federal aid to wildlife restoration fund for such costs; (3) limit the federal share of such costs under such Act to 90%; and (4) require amounts provided for such costs under such Act to remain available for expenditure and obligation for five fiscal years.
 
Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to exclude from the definition of "chemical substance" for purposes of such Act: (1) any component of any pistol, revolver, firearm, shell, or cartridge the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax, including shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants, and primers; and (2) any sport fishing equipment the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax, and sport fishing equipment components. 
 
Urges the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to cooperate with state and local authorities and other entities to implement best practices for waste management and removal and carry out waste removal and other activities on any federal land used as a public target range in order to encourage its continued use for target practice or marksmanship training.
 
Prohibits any person from offering for sale, selling, or having custody, control, or possession of for purposes of offering for sale or selling, billfish (excluding swordfish) or products containing billfish. Treats a violation of such prohibition as an act prohibited by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. 
 
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to assess how best to integrate the goals of the National Fishing Enhancement Act of 1984 and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act with respect to the removal of artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
Establishes the National Fish Habitat Board, which shall: (1) promote, oversee, and coordinate the implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP); and (2) establish national goals and priorities for aquatic habitat conservation. Permits the Board to designate Fish Habitat Partnerships to: (1) coordinate implementation of the NFHAP at a regional level, (2) identify strategic priorities for fish habitat conservation, (3) recommend to the Board fish habitat conservation projects that address a strategic priority of the Board, and (4) develop and carry out such projects. 
 
Requires the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to: (1) establish the National Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Office within USFWS, and (2) develop an interagency operational plan for such Office.
 
Requires the head of each federal agency responsible for acquiring, managing, or disposing of federal land or water to cooperate with the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the USFWS Director to conserve the aquatic habitats for fish and other aquatic organisms within such areas.
 
Prohibits the use of funds made available to carry out this Act for fish and wildlife mitigation purposes under: (1) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), (2) the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, (3) the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, or (4) any other federal law or court settlement.
 
Requires the USFWS Director, the NOAA Assistant Administrator, and the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide technical and scientific assistance to the Partnerships, the project participants, and the Board.
 
Amends the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act to allow the Secretary of the Interior, for each three-year period beginning in 2013, to set the amount to be collected for each Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp sold under such Act. Requires the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Department of the Interior to collect the amount established for each Stamp sold for a hunting year if the Secretary determines, at any time before February 1 of a calendar year, that all amounts in the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund have been obligated for expenditure. Permits the Secretary, in consultation with the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, to waive requirements under the Act relating to the prohibition on the taking of migratory waterfowl with respect to certain individuals as determined to be appropriate. Authorizes the Secretary to authorize states to issue electronic duck stamps.
 
Requires the USFWS Director to carry out a Joint Ventures Program that: (1) provides financial and technical assistance to support regional migratory bird conservation partnerships, (2) develops and implements plans for the protection and enhancement of migratory bird populations, and (3) complements and supports activities by the Secretary of the Interior and the Director to fulfill obligations under specified migratory bird and conservation Acts. Authorizes the Director to enter into agreements with eligible partners under such Program.
 
Amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to extend through FY2017 the authorization of appropriations for allocations to carry out approved wetlands conservation projects.
 
Amends the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act to extend through FY2017 the authorization of appropriations to carry out such Act.
 
 Reauthorizes and revises the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act. Removes limitations on the appointment of such Foundation's officers and employees. Gives the Foundation the power to receive and administer restitution and community service payments, amounts for mitigation of impacts to natural resources, and other amounts arising from legal, regulatory, or administrative proceedings, subject to the condition that the amounts are received or administered for purposes that further the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, plants, and other natural resources. Repeals provisions authorizing the Foundation to establish a national whale conservation endowment fund. Authorizes appropriations for the Foundation for FY2012-FY2017.
 
Amends the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010 to require such stamp to be: (1) made available to the public for an additional four years; and (2) offered in a choice of five versions depicting an African or Asian elephant, a rhinoceros, a tiger, a marine turtle, or a great ape.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2012 for the African Elephant Conservation Act, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994, the Great Ape Conservation Act of 2000, the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act.
 
Amends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) to reauthorize, until July 25, 2022, the program for the completion of appraisals and satisfaction of other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public land identified for disposal under approved land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Makes the FLTFA inapplicable to land eligible for sale under specified public land laws. 
 
Amends the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 to revise the nutria eradication program by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance to Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington (currently, only to Maryland and Louisiana). Establishes the goals of such program as: (1) eradicating nutria in Maryland; (2) eradicating or controlling nutria in Louisiana, Delaware, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington; and (3) restoring wetlands damaged by nutria. Requires that the Maryland program consist of management, research, and public education activities carried out in accordance with the USFWS's document entitled "Eradication Strategies for Nutria in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Watersheds," dated March 2002 and updated in March 2009. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY2012-FY2016 for financial assistance to Maryland, Louisiana, and on a competitive basis, to other coastal states.
 
Requires the Secretary and the National Invasive Species Council to develop long-term nutria control or eradication programs to: (1) significantly reduce and restore nutria damaged wetlands in Delaware, Oregon, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington; and (2) promote voluntary, public-private partnerships to eradicate or control nutria and restore nutria-damaged wetlands in such states.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-11-26
text: Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 504.
action_date: 2012-11-26
text: Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S6890)
action_date: 2012-11-15
text: Motion by Senator Reid to commit to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with instructions to report back forthwith with amendment SA2880 fell when cloture was invoked on the bill in Senate. (consideration: CR S6830-6831)
action_date: 2012-11-15
text: Cloture on the bill invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 84 - 12. Record Vote Number: 203. (consideration: CR S6830-6831; text: CR S6830)
action_date: 2012-11-15
text: Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S6829, S6830-6835)
action_date: 2012-11-13
text: Cloture motion on the bill presented in Senate. (consideration: CR S6728, S6761; text: CR S6728)
action_date: 2012-11-13
text: Motion by Senator Reid to commit to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with instructions to report back forthwith with amendment SA 2880 in Senate. (consideration: CR S6727)
action_date: 2012-11-13
text: Measure laid before Senate by motion. (consideration: CR S6727-6728)
action_date: 2012-11-13
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure agreed to in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 92 - 5. Record Vote Number: 201. (consideration: CR S6726-6727)
action_date: 2012-11-13
text: Motion to proceed to measure considered in Senate. (consideration: CR S6721)
action_date: 2012-09-22
text: Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 84 - 7. Record Vote Number: 200. (consideration: CR 9/21/2012 S6604-6605; text: CR 9/21/2012 S6604)
action_date: 2012-09-21
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S6559-6582, S6597)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (consideration: CR S6502; text: CR S6502)
action_date: 2012-09-20
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S6502, S6510)
action_date: 2012-09-11
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 504.
action_date: 2012-09-10
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2012-09-10
text: Introduced in Senate