[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4959 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4959

  To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide opportunities for 
   continued hunting on Federal public land, to protect the public's 
           ability to fish for sport, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 22, 2004

   Mr. John introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide opportunities for 
   continued hunting on Federal public land, to protect the public's 
           ability to fish for sport, 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 ``Hunting Heritage and Fishing 
Preservation Act of 2004''.

                  TITLE I--HUNTING HERITAGE PROTECTION

SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Hunting Heritage Protection Act''.

SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Recreational hunting is an important and traditional 
        recreational activity in which 13,000,000 people in the United 
        States 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 relating to hunting 
        provide direct assistance to wildlife managers and enforcement 
        officers of the Federal Government and 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 by--
                    (A) reducing conflicts between people and wildlife; 
                and
                    (B) providing incentives for the conservation of--
                            (i) wildlife; and
                            (ii) habitats and ecosystems on which 
                        wildlife depend.
            (6) Each State has established at least 1 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 without adverse effects on other uses of the land.

SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Agency head.--The term ``agency head'' means the head 
        of any Federal agency that has authority to manage a natural 
        resource or Federal public land on which a natural resource 
        depends.
            (2) Federal public land.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``Federal public land'' 
                means any land or water that is--
                            (i) publicly accessible;
                            (ii) owned by the United States; and
                            (iii) managed by an executive agency for 
                        purposes that include the conservation of 
                        natural resources.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term ``Federal public land'' 
                does not include any land held in trust for the benefit 
                of an Indian tribe or member of an Indian tribe.
            (3) Hunting.--The term ``hunting'' means the lawful--
                    (A) pursuit, trapping, shooting, capture, 
                collection, or killing of wildlife; or
                    (B) attempt to pursue, trap, shoot, capture, 
                collect, or kill wildlife.

SEC. 104. RECREATIONAL HUNTING.

    (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights, Federal public 
land shall be open to access and use for recreational hunting except as 
limited by--
            (1) the agency head with jurisdiction over the Federal 
        public land--
                    (A) for reasons of national security;
                    (B) for reasons of public safety; or
                    (C) for any other reasons for closure authorized by 
                applicable Federal law; and
            (2) any law (including regulations) of the State in which 
        the Federal public land is located that is applicable to 
        recreational hunting.
    (b) Management.--Consistent with subsection (a), each agency head 
shall manage Federal public land under the jurisdiction of the agency 
head--
            (1) in a manner that supports, promotes, and enhances 
        recreational hunting opportunities;
            (2) to the extent authorized under State law (including 
        regulations); and
            (3) in accordance with applicable Federal law (including 
        regulations).
    (c) No Net Loss.--
            (1) In general.--Federal public land management decisions 
        and actions should, to the maximum extent practicable, result 
        in no net loss of land area available for hunting opportunities 
        on Federal public land.
            (2) Annual report.--Not later than October 1 of each year, 
        each agency head with authority to manage Federal public land 
        on which recreational hunting occurs shall submit to the 
        Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 
        report that describes--
                    (A)(i) any Federal public land administered by the 
                agency head that was closed to recreational hunting at 
                any time during the preceding year; and
                    (ii) the reason for the closure; and
                    (B) areas administered by the agency head that were 
                opened to recreational hunting to compensate for the 
                closure of the areas described in subparagraph (A)(i).
            (3) Closures of 5,000 or more acres.--The withdrawal, 
        change of classification, or change of management status that 
        effectively closes 5,000 or more acres of Federal public land 
        to access or use for recreational hunting shall take effect 
        only if, before the date of withdrawal or change, the agency 
        head that has jurisdiction over the Federal public land submits 
        to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
        written notice of the withdrawal or change.
    (d) Areas not Affected.--Nothing in this title compels the opening 
to recreational hunting of national parks or national monuments under 
the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior.
    (e) No Priority.--Nothing in this title requires a Federal agency 
to give preference to hunting over other uses of Federal public land or 
over land or water management priorities established by Federal law.
    (f) Authority of the States.--
            (1) Savings.--Nothing in this title affects the authority, 
        jurisdiction, or responsibility of a State to manage, control, 
        or regulate fish and wildlife under State law (including 
        regulations) on land or water in the State, including Federal 
        public land.
            (2) Federal licenses.--Nothing in this title authorizes an 
        agency head to require a license or permit to hunt, fish, or 
        trap on land or water in a State, including on Federal public 
        land in the State.
            (3) State right of action.--
                    (A) In general.--Any State aggrieved by the failure 
                of an agency head or employee to comply with this title 
                may bring a civil action in the United States District 
                Court for the district in which the failure occurs for 
                a permanent injunction.
                    (B) Preliminary injunction.--If the district court 
                determines, based on the facts, that a preliminary 
                injunction is appropriate, the district court may grant 
                a preliminary injunction.
                    (C) Court costs.--If the district court issues an 
                injunction under this paragraph or otherwise finds in 
                favor of the State, the district court shall award to 
                the State any reasonable costs of bringing the civil 
                action (including an attorney's fee).

                       TITLE II--FREEDOM TO FISH

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Freedom to Fish Act''.

SEC. 202. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Recreational fishing is traditionally the most popular 
        outdoor sport with more than 50,000,000 participants of all 
        ages, in all regions of the country.
            (2) Recreational anglers makes a substantial contribution 
        to local, State, and national economies and infuse 
        $116,000,000,000 annually into the national economy.
            (3) In the United States, more than 1,200,000 jobs are 
        related to recreational fishing, a number that is approximately 
        1 percent of the entire civilian workforce in the United 
        States. In communities that rely on seasonal tourism, the 
        expenditures of recreational anglers result in substantial 
        benefits to the local economies and small businesses in those 
        communities.
            (4) Recreational anglers have long demonstrated a 
        conservation ethic. In addition to payment of Federal excise 
        taxes on fishing equipment, motorboats and fuel, as well as 
        license fees, recreational anglers contribute more than 
        $500,000,000 annually to State fisheries conservation 
        management programs and projects.
            (5) It is a long-standing policy of the Federal Government 
        to allow public access to public lands and waters for 
        recreational purposes in a manner that is consistent with 
        principles of sound conservation. This policy is reflected in 
        the National Forest Management Act of 1976, the Wilderness Act, 
        the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and the National Parks and 
        Recreation Act of 1978.
            (6) In most instances, recreational fishery resources can 
        be maintained without restricting public access to fishing 
        areas through a variety of management measures including take 
        limits, minimum size requirements, catch and release 
        requirements, gear adaptations, and closed seasons.
            (7) A clear policy is required to demonstrate to 
        recreational anglers that recreational fishing can be managed 
        without unnecessarily prohibiting such fishing.
            (8) A comprehensive policy on the implementation, use, and 
        monitoring of marine protected areas is required to maintain 
        the optimum balance between recreational fishing and sustaining 
        recreational fishery resources.

SEC. 203. POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to promote sound conservation 
of fishery resources by ensuring that--
            (1) Federal regulations promote access to fishing areas by 
        recreational anglers to the maximum extent practicable;
            (2) recreational anglers are actively involved in the 
        formulation of any regulatory procedure that contemplates 
        imposing restrictions on access to a fishing area; and
            (3) limitations on access to fishing areas by recreational 
        anglers are not imposed unless such limitations are 
        scientifically necessary to provide for the conservation of a 
        fishery resource.

SEC. 204. LIMITATION ON CLOSURES UNDER MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY 
              CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

    Section 303(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) is amended by striking ``and'' after 
the semicolon at the end of paragraph (13), by striking the period at 
the end of paragraph (14) and inserting ``; and'', and by adding at the 
end the following:
            ``(15) not establish geographic areas where recreational 
        fishing is prohibited unless--
                    ``(A) clear indication exists that recreational 
                fishing in such area is the cause of a specific 
                conservation problem in the fishery;
                    ``(B) no alternative conservation measures related 
                to recreational fishing, such as gear restrictions, 
                quotas, or closed seasons will adequately provide for 
                conservation and management of the fishery;
                    ``(C) the management plan--
                            ``(i) provides for specific measurable 
                        criteria to assess whether the prohibition 
                        provides conservation benefits to the fishery; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) requires a periodic review to assess 
                        the continued need for the prohibition not less 
                        than once every 3 years;
                    ``(D) the best available scientific information 
                supports the need to close the area to recreational 
                fishing; and
                    ``(E) the prohibition is terminated as soon as the 
                condition in subparagraph (A) that was the basis of the 
                prohibition no longer exists.''.
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