1.This Act may be cited as
the Recreational Fishing and Hunting
Heritage and Opportunities Act
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)recreational
fishing and hunting are important and traditional activities in which millions
of people in the United States participate;
(2)recreational
anglers and hunters have been and continue to be among the foremost supporters
of sound fish and wildlife management and conservation in the United
States;
(3)recreational
fishing and hunting are environmentally acceptable and beneficial activities
that occur and can be provided on Federal public land and water without adverse
effects on other uses or users;
(4)recreational
anglers, hunters, and sporting organizations provide direct assistance to fish
and wildlife managers and enforcement officers of the Federal Government as
well as State and local governments by investing volunteer time and effort to
fish and wildlife conservation;
(5)recreational
anglers, hunters, and associated industries have generated billions of dollars
of critical funding for fish and wildlife conservation, research, and
management by providing revenues from purchases of fishing and hunting
licenses, permits, and stamps, as well as excise taxes on fishing, hunting, and
shooting equipment that have generated billions of dollars of critical funding
for fish and wildlife conservation, research, and management;
(6)recreational
shooting is—
(A)an important and
traditional activity in which millions of people in the United States
participate; and
(B)a valid use of
Federal public land, including the establishment of safe and convenient
shooting ranges on Federal land;
(7)participation in
recreational shooting helps recruit and retain hunters and contributes to
wildlife conservation;
(8)(A)opportunities for
recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting are declining, which depresses
participation in those traditional activities; and
(B)depressed participation adversely
impacts fish and wildlife conservation and funding for important conservation
efforts; and
(9)the public
interest would be served, and the fish and wildlife resources of citizens of
the United States benefitted, by action to ensure that opportunities are
facilitated to engage in fishing and hunting on Federal public land as
recognized by Executive Order 12962 (16 U.S.C. 1801 note; relating to
recreational fisheries) and Executive Order 13443 (16 U.S.C. 661 note; relating
to facilitation of hunting heritage and wildlife conservation).
3.In this Act:
(1)
(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term
Federal public land means any land or water that is—
(i)owned by the
United States; and
(ii)managed by a
Federal agency (including the Department of the Interior and the Forest
Service) for purposes that include the conservation of natural
resources.
(B)The
term Federal public land does not include any land or water held
in trust for the benefit of Indians or other Native Americans.
(2)
(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term
hunting means use of a firearm, bow, or other authorized means in
the lawful—
(i)pursuit,
shooting, capture, collection, trapping, or killing of wildlife;
(ii)attempt to
pursue, shoot, capture, collect, trap, or kill wildlife; or
(iii)the training of
hunting dogs (including field trials for hunting dogs).
(B)The
term hunting does not include the use of skilled volunteers to
cull excess animals (as defined by other Federal law, including laws applicable
to the National Park System).
(3)The term recreational fishing means the
lawful—
(A)pursuit, capture,
collection, or killing of fish; or
(B)attempt to
capture, collect, or kill fish.
(4)The term recreational shooting means any
form of sport, training, competition, or pastime, whether formal or informal,
that involves the discharge of a rifle, handgun, or shotgun, or the use of a
bow and arrow.
4.Hunting,
recreational fishing, and recreational shooting
(a)Subject to valid existing rights and subsection (g), and
cooperation with the respective State and fish and wildlife agency, a Federal
public land management official shall exercise the authority of the official
under law, including provisions regarding land use planning, to facilitate use
of and access to Federal public land for hunting, recreational fishing, and
recreational shooting except as limited by—
(1)any law that
authorizes action or withholding action for reasons of national security,
public safety, or resource conservation;
(2)any other Federal
law that specifically precludes hunting, recreational fishing, or shooting on
specific Federal public land or water or units of Federal public land;
and
(3)discretionary
limitations on hunting, recreational fishing, or recreational shooting
determined to be necessary and reasonable as supported by the best scientific
evidence and advanced through a transparent public process.
(b)Consistent
with subsection (a), the head of each Federal public land management agency
shall exercise the land management discretion of the head—
(1)in a manner that
supports and facilitates hunting, recreational fishing, and recreational
shooting opportunities;
(2)to the extent
authorized under applicable State law; and
(3)in accordance
with applicable Federal law.
(c)
(1)Effects of
plans and activities
(A)Provision of
opportunities in land planning documentsFederal public land
planning documents (including land resources management plans, travel
management plans, resource management plans, and general management plans)
shall provide for opportunities to engage in hunting, recreational fishing, and
recreational shooting, except as determined to be clearly inconsistent with or
incompatible with the purposes for which the applicable unit of Federal public
land is to be managed.
(B)
(i)No action taken under this section (other than an action
under subsection (d)(2) or (g)) or under section 4 of the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd), either individually
or cumulatively with other actions involving Federal public land, shall be
considered to be a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of
the human environment.
(ii)No
additional identification, analysis, or consideration of environmental effects
(including cumulative effects) shall be necessary or required with respect to
an action described in clause (i).
(C)Other activity
not considered
(i)Except as provided in clause (ii), Federal public land
management officials shall not be required to consider the existence or
availability of hunting, recreational fishing, or recreational shooting
opportunities on adjacent or nearby public land or private land for purposes
of—
(I)determining which
units of Federal public land are open for, hunting, recreational fishing, or
recreational shooting; or
(II)setting levels
of use for hunting, recreational fishing, or recreational shooting on Federal
public land.
(ii)Federal public land management officials may
consider the opportunities described in clause (i) if the coordination of those
opportunities would enhance the hunting, recreational fishing, or recreational
shooting opportunities available to the public.
(2)If hunting is prohibited by law, a Federal public land
planning document described in paragraph (1)(A) of an agency shall, after
appropriate coordination with the appropriate State fish and wildlife agency,
allow the participation of skilled volunteers in the culling and other
management of wildlife populations on Federal public land unless the head of
the agency demonstrates, based on the best scientific data available or
applicable Federal law, why skilled volunteers should not be used to control
overpopulation of wildlife on the land that is the subject of the planning
document.
(d)Bureau of land
management and forest service land
(1)
(A)Land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land
Management or the Forest Service (including land designated as wilderness or
administratively classified as wilderness eligible or suitable and primitive or
semiprimitive areas, but excluding land on the outer Continental Shelf) shall
be open to hunting, recreational fishing, or recreational shooting unless the
managing Federal agency acts to close land to such activity.
(B)Land described in subparagraph (A) may be subject to
closures or restrictions if determined by the head of the agency to be
necessary and reasonable and supported by facts and evidence for purposes such
as resource conservation, public safety, energy or mineral production, energy
generation or transmission infrastructure, water supply facilities, protection
of other permittees, protection of private property rights or interests,
national security, or compliance with other law.
(2)Recreational
shooting ranges
(A)The head of each Federal agency shall use the authorities
of the head, in a manner consistent with this Act and other applicable
law—
(i)to
lease or permit use of Federal public land for recreational shooting ranges;
and
(ii)to
designate specific Federal public land for recreational shooting
activities.
(B)Any designation under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not
subject the United States to any civil action or claim for monetary damages for
injury or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by any
recreational shooting activity occurring at or on the designated Federal public
land.
(e)Necessity in
wilderness areas
(1)The provision of opportunities for hunting, recreational
fishing, and recreational shooting, and the conservation of fish and wildlife
to provide sustainable use recreational opportunities on designated wilderness
areas on Federal public land shall constitute measures necessary to meet the
minimum requirements for the administration of a wilderness area.
(2)Amendment to
Wilderness ActSection 4 of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
(e)In subsection (a), the term within and
supplemental to
—
(1)means that any
requirements under this Act shall be implemented only to the extent that the
activities do not prevent Federal public land management officials and State
fish and wildlife officials from carrying out and facilitating the original or
primary purpose or purposes for which the unit was established; and
(2)does not
authorize or facilitate commodity development, use, or extraction, motorized
recreation access, or comparable non-hunting, fishing and trapping
activities.
.
(f)Not
later than October 1 of every other year, beginning with the second October 1
after the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal agency who
has authority to manage Federal public land on which hunting, recreational
fishing, or recreational shooting occurs shall submit to the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that describes—
(1)any Federal
public land administered by the agency head that was closed to hunting,
recreational fishing, or recreational shooting at any time during the preceding
year; and
(2)the reason for
the closure.
(g)Closures or
significant restrictions of 640 or more acres
(1)Other than closures established or prescribed by land
planning actions referred to in subsection (d)(1)(B) or emergency closures
described in paragraph (3), a permanent or temporary withdrawal, change of
classification, or change of management status of Federal public land or water
that effectively closes or significantly restricts 640 or more contiguous acres
of Federal public land or water to access or use for hunting or recreational
fishing or activities related to hunting or recreational fishing shall take
effect only after the head of the Federal agency that has jurisdiction over the
Federal public land or water—
(A)publishes
appropriate notice of the withdrawal or change;
(B)demonstrates that
coordination has occurred with a State fish and wildlife agency; and
(C)submits to the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate written notice of the
withdrawal or change.
(2)Aggregate or
cumulative effectsIf the aggregate or cumulative effect of
separate withdrawals or changes effectively closes or significant restrictions
affects 1,280 or more acres of land or water, the withdrawals and changes shall
be treated as a single withdrawal or change for purposes of paragraph
(1).
(3)
(A)Nothing in this Act prohibits a Federal land management
agency from establishing or implementing emergency closures or restrictions of
the smallest practicable area of Federal public land to provide for public
safety, resource conservation, national security, or other purposes authorized
by law.
(B)An
emergency closure under subparagraph (A) shall terminate after a reasonable
period of time unless the temporary closure is converted to a permanent closure
consistent with this Act.
(h)
(1)Nothing in this Act requires a Federal agency to give
preference to hunting, recreational fishing, or recreational shooting over
other uses of Federal public land or over land or water management priorities
established by other Federal law.
(2)National
wildlife refuge systemNothing in this Act amends or modifies the
provisions of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966
(16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), except to the extent expressly provided in this
Act.
(i)Consultation
with councilsIn carrying out this Act, the head of a Federal
agency shall consult with the appropriate Council established under Executive
Order 12962 (16 U.S.C. 1801 note; relating to recreational fisheries) and
Executive Order 13443 (16 U.S.C. 661 note; relating to facilitation of hunting
heritage and wildlife conservation).
(j)
(1)Nothing in this Act interferes with, diminishes, or
conflicts with the authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility of any State to
manage, control, or regulate fish and wildlife under State law (including
regulations) on land or water within the State, including on Federal public
land.
(2)
(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), nothing in this
Act authorizes the head of a Federal agency to require a license, fee, or
permit to fish, hunt, or trap on land or water in a State, including on Federal
public land in the States.
(B)This paragraph does not apply to any requirement of the
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (16 U.S.C. 718a et
seq.).