1.This Act may be cited as the
Hunting Heritage Protection
Act
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)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)hunting is an essential component of
effective wildlife management by—
(A)reducing conflicts between people and
wildlife;
(B)balancing wildlife populations with the
natural carrying capacity of the land; and
(C)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; and
(7)hunting is an environmentally beneficial
activity that occurs, and can be provided for, on Federal public land without
adverse effects on other uses of the land.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term agency
head means the head of any Federal agency that has authority to manage a
natural resource or Federal public land.
(2)
(A)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)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)The term hunting means the
lawful pursuit, trapping, shooting, capture, collection, or killing of
wildlife.
4.
(a)Subject to existing
rights, Federal public land shall be open to access and use for 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 limiting access
authorized by applicable Federal law; and
(2)any law of the State in which the Federal
public land is located that is applicable to hunting.
(b)Consistent with subsection (a), to the
extent authorized under State law, and in accordance with applicable Federal
law, each agency head shall manage Federal public land under the jurisdiction
of the agency head in a manner that supports, promotes, and enhances access for
hunting.
(c)
(1)Each agency head
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that Federal public land
management decisions and actions result in no net loss of land area accessible
for hunting on Federal public land.
(2)Not later than October
1 of each year, each agency head with authority to manage Federal public land
on which hunting occurs shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives a report that describes—
(A)(i)any Federal public land administered by the
agency head in which access for hunting was limited at any time during the year
as compared to access available during the previous year; and
(ii)the reason for the limitation; and
(B)areas administered by the agency head that
were opened to hunting to compensate for the limitations of the areas described
in subparagraph (A)(i).
(3)Closures of
5,000 or more acresThe
withdrawal, change of classification, or change of management status that
effectively closes or limits access to 5,000 or more acres of Federal public
land for 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 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on
Agriculture and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives written notice of the withdrawal or change.
(d)Nothing in this Act
compels the opening to hunting of national parks or national monuments under
the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior.
(e)Nothing in this Act
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)
(1)Nothing in this Act affects the authority,
jurisdiction, or responsibility of a State to manage, control, or regulate fish
and wildlife under State law on land or water in the State, including Federal
public land.
(2)Nothing in this Act
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)
(A)Any State aggrieved
by the failure of an agency head or employee to comply with this Act may bring
a civil action in the United States District Court for the district in which
the failure occurs for a permanent injunction.
(B)If the district
court determines, based on the facts, that a preliminary injunction is
appropriate, the district court may grant a preliminary injunction.
(C)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).