[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 751 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 751

 To protect and enhance sportsmen's opportunities and conservation of 
                   wildlife, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 15, 1997

   Mr. Shelby (for himself, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Craig, and Mr. Burns) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To protect and enhance sportsmen's opportunities and conservation of 
                   wildlife, and for other purposes.

    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 
1997''.

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 
        approve of fishing and 81 percent of Americans approve of 
        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 and support 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 the habitats and 
        ecosystems on which wildlife depends; and
            (8) each State--
                    (A) has established 1 or more agencies staffed by 
                professionally trained fish and wildlife management 
                personnel;
                    (B) has legal authority to manage the fish and 
                wildlife found within the State; and
                    (C) 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, each Federal agency that has 
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 fishing and hunting and 
opportunities for fishing and hunting.

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

    (a) In General.--Federal public land shall be open to access and 
use for fishing and hunting of wildlife, unless--
            (1) the responsible agency of the State in which the 
        Federal public 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 the 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 
                Federal public land, including public safety.
    (b) Certain Lands Administered by the National Park Service.--
Nothing in this section compels the opening to access and use for 
fishing and hunting of wildlife of any national park or monument 
administered by the National Park Service.
    (c) 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 land management priorities established by Federal law.

SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF THE INTEGRITY OF 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 (commonly known as the ``Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration 
Act'') (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.), is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Secretary of Agriculture'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``Secretary of the Interior''; and
            (2) in section 4 (16 U.S.C. 669c), by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--The amount of funding made available to the 
Secretary of the Interior for expenses under this section shall not be 
available to replace funding that is--
            ``(1) authorized for any other expense under the 
        jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior; and
            ``(2) decreased under any other provision of law.''.
    (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 (commonly known as the ``Federal 
Aid in Fish Restoration Act'') (16 U.S.C. 777c), is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(f) Use of Funds.--The amount of funding made available to the 
Secretary of the Interior for expenses under this section shall not be 
available to replace funding that is--
            ``(1) authorized for any other expense under the 
        jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior; and
            ``(2) decreased under any other provision of law.''.

SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT EFFECTS.

    (a) Statement.--No Federal agency action that may significantly 
diminish opportunities for, or access to, engaging in fishing or 
hunting on Federal public land shall be effective until the agency 
prepares a detailed statement evaluating the effect of the action on 
fishing or 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.--A person that may be adversely affected by a 
loss of fishing or hunting opportunities on Federal public land as a 
result of an agency action described in subsection (a) may bring a 
civil action in United States district court for review of the adequacy 
of the statement required by subsection (a).
    (d) Emergencies.--Nothing in this section precludes an agency from 
exercising statutory authority to close to access and use for fishing 
and hunting of wildlife any Federal public land in an emergency or 
other exigent circumstance.
    (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. CIVIL ACTIONS.

    (a) Intervention.--A person interested in engaging 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, in which the plaintiff seeks an order that would 
require the use (or nonuse) of the land in such a manner as to impair 
such access to or use of the land for the purpose of fishing or hunting 
as is 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 such access to or use of the land 
for the purpose of fishing or hunting as is 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 for fishing and hunting.

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 United States district court 
to seek declaratory or injunctive relief regarding the implementation 
of any provision of this Act, including--
            (1) a declaration that a civil action brought by a person 
        may significantly disrupt or eliminate opportunities for 
        fishing or hunting; and
            (2) an injunction against the prosecution of the civil 
        action.

SEC. 8. AUTHORITY OF THE STATES.

    (a) 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 public land.
    (b) 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 managed by the Federal agency 
shall be no greater than the rights of a private owner of land.
                                 <all>