[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4790 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4790

 To recognize hunting heritage and provide opportunities for continued 
                        hunting on public lands.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2000

   Mr. Chambliss (for himself, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Peterson of 
 Minnesota, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Pickering, Mr. Green of Wisconsin, Mr. 
    Thune, and Mr. Hansen) introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To recognize hunting heritage and provide opportunities for continued 
                        hunting on public lands.

    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 ``Hunting Heritage Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Recreational hunting is an important and traditional 
        recreational activity in which 14,000,000 Americans 16 years of 
        age and older participate.
            (2) Hunters have been and continue to be among the foremost 
        supporters of sound wildlife management and conservation 
        practices in the United States.
            (3) Persons who hunt and organizations related to hunting 
        provide direct assistance to wildlife managers and enforcement 
        officers of Federal, State, and local governments.
            (4) Purchases of hunting licenses, permits, and stamps and 
        excise taxes on goods used by hunters have generated billions 
        of dollars for wildlife conservation, research, and management.
            (5) Recreational hunting is an essential component of 
        effective wildlife management, in that it is an important tool 
        for reducing conflicts between people and wildlife and provides 
        incentives for the conservation of wildlife and habitats and 
        ecosystems on which wildlife depends.
            (6) Each State has established at least one agency staffed 
        by professionally trained wildlife management personnel, that 
        has legal authority to manage the wildlife in the State.
            (7) Recreational hunting is an environmentally acceptable 
        activity that occurs and can be provided for on Federal public 
        land and water without adverse effects on other uses of that 
        land and water.

SEC. 3. RECREATIONAL HUNTING.

    (a) In General.--Federal public land and water shall be open to 
access and use for recreational hunting except--
            (1) as limited by the Federal agency with responsibility 
        for 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 Federal statutes as reasons for closure; and
            (2) as recreational hunting is limited by the State in 
        which the Federal public land or water is located.
    (b) Management.--The head of each Federal agency with authority to 
manage a natural resource or public land or water on which a natural 
resource depends shall exercise that authority, consistent with 
subsection (a), in a manner so as to support, promote, and enhance 
recreational hunting opportunities, to the extent authorized under 
State law and regulation and in accordance with applicable Federal law.
    (c) No Net Loss.--Federal land management decisions and actions 
should, to the greatest extent practicable, result in no net loss of 
hunting opportunities on public lands.
    (d) Areas Administered by the National Park Service.--This Act 
shall not be construed to compel the opening to recreational hunting of 
national parks or national monuments administered by the National Park 
Service.
    (e) No Priority.--This section does not require a Federal agency to 
give preference to hunting over other uses of Federal public land or 
water, or over land or water management priorities established in 
Federal law.
    (f) Authority of the States.--This Act shall not be construed to 
impair 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.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL RECREATIONAL HUNTING COORDINATION COUNCIL.

    (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established a National 
Recreational Hunting Coordination Council (in this Act referred to as 
the ``Council'').
    (b) Duties.--The Council shall--
            (1) ensure that Federal agencies consider the social and 
        economic values of healthy wildlife habitats that support 
        recreational hunting;
            (2) make available to the public the latest resource 
        information and management technologies to assist in the 
        conservation and management of wildlife and the provision of 
        recreational hunting opportunities;
            (3) assess the implementation of the plan required under 
        subsection (e);
            (4) prepare a biennial report of accomplishments under such 
        plan; and
            (5) review and evaluate Federal policies and activities 
        that affect hunting opportunities.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) Number and appointment.--The Council shall consist of 
        11 members appointed as follows:
                    (A) 1 member appointed by the Secretary of the 
                Interior.
                    (B) 1 member appointed by the Secretary of 
                Agriculture.
                    (C) 1 member appointed by the Secretary of Defense.
                    (D) 1 member appointed by the Speaker of the House 
                of Representatives.
                    (E) 1 member appointed by the minority leader of 
                the House of Representatives.
                    (F) 1 member appointed by the majority leader of 
                the Senate.
                    (G) 1 member appointed by the minority leader of 
                the Senate.
                    (H) 2 members appointed by the President from among 
                the directors of State fish and wildlife agencies.
                    (I) 2 members appointed by the President to 
                represent recreational hunters.
            (2) Terms.--Each member shall be appointed for a term of 2 
        years.
            (3) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Council shall be filled in 
        the manner in which the original appointment was made. Any 
        member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the 
        expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was 
        appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that 
        term.
            (4) Pay.--Each member shall serve without pay.
            (5) Travel expenses.--Each member shall receive travel 
        expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
        accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (6) Chairperson.--The President shall designate the 
        Chairperson of the Commission from among its members.
    (d) Powers of Council.--
            (1) Hearings and sessions.--The Council may, for the 
        purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at 
        times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence as the 
        Council considers appropriate.
            (2) Powers of members and agents.--Any member or agency of 
        the Council may, if authorized by the Council, take any action 
        which the Council is authorized to take by this subsection.
    (e) Recreational Hunting Resources Conservation Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Council, in cooperation with 
        Federal agencies, States, and tribes, and after consulting the 
        hunting community, shall develop a Comprehensive Recreational 
        Hunting and Wildlife Resource Conservation Plan.
            (2) Agenda.--Such plan shall recommend a 5-year agenda for 
        Federal agencies identified in the plan and shall include--
                    (A) measurable objectives to conserve and restore 
                wildlife habitats that support viable and healthy 
                wildlife resources that may be hunted;
                    (B) actions to be taken by such agencies to ensure 
                and facilitate hunting access to appropriate public 
                lands, including Department of Defense lands where 
                provision of hunting opportunities is consistent with 
                national security; and
                    (C) a comprehensive mechanism to evaluate the 
                achievements of the agenda.
            (3) Integration.--To the extent practicable, the Council in 
        developing such plan shall integrate it with existing plans and 
        programs, reduce duplication, and include recommended actions 
        for cooperation with States, tribes, wildlife conservation 
        groups, and the hunting community.
            (4) Updating.--The Council may update such plan.
    (f) Termination.--The Council shall terminate 10 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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