[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1719 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1719

 To protect and enhance sportsmen's opportunities and enhance wildlife 
                             conservation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 1997

   Mr. Cunningham (for himself, Mr. Tanner, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. 
 Chambliss, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Pombo, 
 Mr. Goode, Mr. Hill, Mr. Barcia, Mr. John, and Mr. Hunter) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (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 an overwhelming majority of 
        Americans approved of fishing and hunting.
            (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.
            (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.
            (8) Each State has established one or more agencies staffed 
        by professionally trained fish and wildlife management 
        personnel, has legal authority to manage the fish and wildlife 
        found within the State, and carries out sound programs of fish 
        and wildlife management.
    (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 Federal public land and 
water on which a natural resource depends shall exercise the authority, 
consistent with section 3(e), in a manner so as to support, promote, 
and enhance hunting and fishing opportunities to the extent permitted 
under State law and regulation and in accordance with applicable 
Federal law.

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

    (a) In General.--Federal public land and water shall be open to 
access and use for fishing and hunting except--
            (1) as limited by the State in which the Federal public 
        land or water is located; or
            (2) as limited by the Federal agency responsible for the 
        Federal public land or water--
                    (A) for reasons of national security;
                    (B) for reasons of public safety; or
                    (C) for reasons specifically authorized in 
                applicable statutes.
    (b) Limitations on Terms of Federal Closure to Fishing or 
Hunting.--
            (1) Limitation on duration.--Any closure of Federal public 
        land or water to fishing or hunting may continue in effect only 
        during the period in which the specific circumstances for which 
        the closure is established exist.
            (2) Rule of construction.--Any authority of a Federal 
        agency to close particular land or water to hunting or fishing 
        shall not be construed as authority to protect or manage fish 
        or wildlife.
    (c) Certain Federal Public Land and Water Administered by the 
National Park Service.--Nothing in this Act shall compel the opening to 
hunting or fishing of national parks or national monuments administered 
by the National Park Service.
    (d) No Priority.--This section does not require a Federal agency to 
give preference to fishing or hunting over other uses of Federal public 
land or water or land or water management priorities established in 
Federal law.
    (e) 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 or water within the State, including Federal public 
        land or water.
            (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 public land or water 
        managed by the Federal agency shall be no greater than the 
        rights of a private owner of land or water.

SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORTSMEN'S TRUST ACCOUNTS.

    (a) 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--
            (1) by striking ``Secretary of Agriculture'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``Secretary of the Interior''; and
            (2) 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.''.
    (b) 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 public land or water 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 
public land or water 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 adequacy of the statement required in 
subsection (a).
    (d) Emergencies.--Nothing in this section precludes an agency from 
exercising statutory authority to close Federal public land or water 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-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.).

SEC. 6. CIVIL ACTIONS.

    (a) Intervention.--A person interested in participating 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 public land or water in which the plaintiff seeks an order 
that would require the use (or nonuse) of the land or water in such a 
manner as to impair access to or use of the land or water 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 Federal 
public land or water 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 public land or water for fishing and hunting.
    (c) State Deemed Indispensable Party.--In any civil action brought 
in any United States district court under any other Federal law 
relating to the use of any Federal public land or water, a State is 
deemed an indispensable party if management by the State of fish and 
resident wildlife, including hunting and fishing, would be curtailed or 
if opportunities provided by the State for hunting and fishing would be 
reduced or eliminated by a grant of preliminary or final relief.

SEC. 7. 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.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Hunting and fishing.--For any State, the terms 
        ``hunting'' and ``fishing'' include all means and methods of 
        taking fish and wildlife as authorized and regulated by the 
        State agency responsible for the conduct or oversight of fish 
        and wildlife management.
            (2) Federal public land or water.--The term ``Federal 
        public land or water''--
                    (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means 
                all lands and waters owned in fee by the United States 
                and all property interests owned by the United States 
                in land or water, including easements, that are 
                administered by--
                            (i) the Secretary of the Interior through 
                        the Bureau of Land Management, the United 
                        States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National 
                        Park Service, or the Bureau of Reclamation;
                            (ii) the Secretary of Agriculture through 
                        the United States Forest Service; or
                            (iii) the Secretary of Defense through the 
                        United States Army Corps of Engineers or 
                        pursuant to the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a et 
                        seq.); and
                    (B) does not include any land or water, or interest 
                in land or water, that is part of a national park or 
                national monument, administered by the National Park 
                Service.
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