[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4144 Introduced in House (IH)]







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 
consideration 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 Representatives 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--
            (1) fishing is an important and traditional recreational 
        activity in which 36,000,000 Americans 16 years old and older 
        participate;
            (2) hunting is an important and traditional recreational 
        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 wildlife 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 Federal, 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
            (7) fishing and hunting are essential components of 
        effective wildlife management in that they tend to reduce 
        conflicts between people and wildlife and provide incentives 
        for the conservation of wildlife 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 hunting.

SEC. 3. TAKING OF FISH AND WILDLIFE ON FEDERAL LANDS.

    (a) In General.--Federal land shall be open to access 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
                    (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 hunting.
    (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 priorities 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 taking of fish and wildlife 
        on land within the State, including Federal land.
            (2) Federal authority.--Except as expressly provided by Act 
        of Congress, the authority of a Federal 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 SPORTSMEN'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 United States shall aid 
        the States in wildlife-restoration projects, and for other 
        purposes'', approved September 2, 1937 (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.; 
        commonly known as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration 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 provide 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 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 engage in fishing or hunting on 
Federal land shall be effective until the agency prepares a detailed 
statement evaluating 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 management; 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 action 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 precludes an agency from 
exercising statutory authority to close Federal lands in an emergency 
or other exigent circumstances.
    (e) Effect on Other Law.--Nothing in this section affects or has 
application to the Migratory Bird Treaty 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 following:
                    ``(A) means'';
            (2) by striking ``discharged.'' and inserting ``discharged; 
        but''; and
            (3) by striking ``This term does not include agricultural 
        stormwater'' and all that follows through the end of the 
        sentence and inserting the following:
                    ``(B) does not include--
                            ``(i) agricultural stormwater discharges 
                        and return flows from irrigated agriculture; or
                            ``(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 subparagraph (F) 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
                    ``(G) resulting from the conduct of fishing, 
                hunting, or recreational shooting,''.

SEC. 7. PROMOTION OF FISHING AND HUNTING BY FEDERAL 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.; commonly known as the Federal Aid in Wildlife 
Restoration Act), or the Act entitled ``An Act to provide 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. 
777 et seq.; commonly known as the Federal Aid in Fish Restoration 
Act), shall seek to enhance existing programs and services and 
establish new programs and services that promote fishing and hunting.

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 intervenor under subsection 
(a) shows that the application of another 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 a United States district court 
to seek declaratory or injunctive relief regarding the implementation 
of any provision 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 injunction against the 
prosecution of the civil action.
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