[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 69 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1020-E1021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SPORTSMEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 1997

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the 
Sportsmen's Bill of Rights. I am joined today by Representatives John 
Tanner (TN), Don Young (AK), Saxby Chambliss (GA), Collin Peterson 
(MN), Bob Smith (OR), Richard Pombo (CA), Virgil Goode (VA), Rick Hill 
(MT), James Barcia (MI), and Chris John (LA).


                     THE SPORTSMEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS

  The Sportsmen's Bill of Rights is intended to provide a clear policy 
for Federal agencies to follow in their administration and management 
of our Federal public lands. This policy is for Federal agencies, 
within the limits of the statutes that they administer, to allow access 
to the Federal public lands under their jurisdiction for the purpose of 
fishing and hunting. The policy also requires that in the 
administration of their authorities, the Federal agencies act so as to 
improve and enhance the quality of fishing and hunting opportunities on 
the Federal public lands.
  The bill contains several exceptions and exclusions to take into 
account emergency situations, national security concerns, public 
safety, and accepted management practices. In particular, the bill 
cannot be used to force the opening of national parks and monuments 
administered by the National Park Service to fishing or hunting. Nor 
can it be used to force Federal agencies to change management mandates 
and priorities established by statute. Its intent is to guide the 
Federal land managing agencies in those areas where the basic 
authorizing legislation for management of a particular unit leaves room 
for discretion and judgment by the agency.
  The policy established by this bill is driven by the recognition of 
the important role fishing and hunting play in America. Both are 
recreational activities for millions of Americans. They are also the 
driving forces in fish and wildlife conservation. With the growing 
urbanization that our country has gone through in the 20th century, 
Americans have separated from our connection with and understanding of 
the fishing and hunting activities of our great pioneers and settlers. 
But fishing and hunting are important recreational activities for 
almost 75 million people. Sportsmen spend more than $48 billion every 
year on their outdoor recreation, supporting more than 1.3 million U.S. 
jobs. In addition, the enthusiasm of anglers and hunters for preserving 
their outdoor heritage was tapped 60 years ago to create a system for 
wildlife conservation recognized worldwide for its success at bringing 
back many species that were decimated during the 19th century.
  Over 60 million Americans go fishing each year. Fishing activities 
range from the excitement of opening day in lakes and trout streams to 
the regular jaunts of parent and child to their favorite fishing hole, 
where they can relax and get away from the pace of modern life. Hunting 
is done by 14 million Americans, who take to the woods in the autumn to 
put venison in the larder or call the elusive turkey gobbler in the 
spring. For the individual, fishing and hunting bring out the qualities 
of independence and self-reliance that were so important to our 
forefathers. In their modern versions, fishing and hunting also require 
participants to be law-abiding and ethical good citizens of their 
communities. These are important values to retain and to inoculate in 
our children.
  To a great extent, fishing and hunting are pursued by so many people 
because of their outdoors aspects. Since most people live in an urban 
or suburban environment, a visit to the woods, the fields or fishing 
streams is an important contact with the land. Fishing and hunting 
carries this contact a step further than other outdoor activities, 
because in addition to knowing how to get along in the outdoors, 
fisherman and hunters must have a knowledge of the fish and wildlife 
they pursue and their place in the environment. Together, the love of 
the outdoors and the understanding of

[[Page E1021]]

fish, wildlife, and the environment make anglers and hunters important 
advocates for conservation. It is their critical interests that are 
affected whenever something threatens our fish and wildlife resources 
or the habitats in which they depend.


                       Pittman-Robertson Funding

  Most people are aware that President Teddy Roosevelt, an avid hunter 
and fisherman, launched America on its road to modern conservation. But 
not many people are aware that this year is the 60th anniversary of the 
most important piece of legislation in wildlife conservation in the 
world, the Pittman-Robertson Act.
  Pittman-Robertson, or P-R, was sponsored and endorsed by anglers and 
hunters to assure funding for fish and wildlife management by the 
States. It came at a time when America was still recovering from the 
Depression. For that reason alone, P-R was a remarkable act of 
sacrifice in the recovery and conservation of fish and wildlife. But 
what is most remarkable about P-R is its record of accomplishment. The 
partnership between the capabilities of the State fish and wildlife 
agencies and the funds provided by P-R, are clearly responsible for 
bringing back many species that were on their way to extinction. For 
example, at the beginning of the century, the white-tailed deer was 
nearly extinct in most places. Today it is so numerous in some parts of 
the country that it is considered a problem. The wild turkey, beaver, 
black bear, elk, pronghorn antelope, and many other species have also 
been brought back to healthy levels thanks to the Federal-State 
partnership through P-R.
  The role of anglers and hunters in making P-R worked was twofold. 
First, anglers and hunters joined the manufacturers who supply them 
with equipment to develop, sponsor, and support this revolutionary 
legislation. Second, and most important, anglers and hunters willingly 
pay the excise taxes created by P-R. These taxes, in conjunction with 
the taxes paid by later laws modeled on P-R--the Dingell-Johnson Act 
and the Wallop-Breaux Act--today raise $357 million annually for 
wildlife restoration.
  This tax money is held in a special fund and is apportioned to the 
States each year on the basis of approved projects that contain 
matching State funds. Sports men and women have jealously guarded these 
funds to assure that the money goes to the conservation of fish and 
wildlife. As a result, the United States is a world leader in 
conservation. This industrialized Nation has managed to restore much of 
its abundant original heritage of fish and wildlife. The United States 
has both a large human population, world class industrial base, and a 
wide diversity of healthy fish and wildlife populations and conserved 
and nurtured habitats.


                     review of federal public lands

  The United States contains approximately 2.3 billion acres of land. 
Westward expansion brought the Federal Government ownership of over 80 
percent of that land area. But over the years, more than 1.1 billion 
acres were given to the States and private sector. The following is a 
brief review of the agencies, authorities, and purpose of our Federal 
public lands:

  The Bureau of Land Management [BLM], under the U.S. Department of the 
Interior, administers nearly 268 million acres--41 percent--of Federal 
lands. These lands are primarily managed under the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976 [FLPMA] and the Public Rangelands 
Improvement Act of 1978 [PRIA]. Overall the BLM administers 521 
recreation areas, 589 acres of critical environmental concern--9.5 
million acres--99 research natural areas, 9 national conservation 
areas, and cooperates with the National Park Service in managing 43 
national natural landmarks. the BLM mission is to manage the public 
lands primarily under a multiple-use regime on the basis of a sustained 
yield. BLM is also endowed to protect a variety of aspects of its 
lands, provide food and habitat for fish, wildlife, and domestic 
animals, and provide for outdoor recreation and human occupation and 
use.
  The Forest Service, under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
administers nearly 192 million acres--29 percent--of the Federal lands 
in the National Forest System. These lands are primarily managed under 
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 
[RPA], as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976 [NFMA] 
and the Multiple-use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960. Overall the Forest 
Service administers 155 national forests, 20 national grasslands, and 
103 other units such as land utilization projects, purchase units, and 
research and experimental area. There are also special congressional 
designated areas, including 13 national recreation areas, 2 national 
monuments, national volcanic monuments in Washington and Oregon, 15 
wildlife preserves or game refuges, and numerous other sites. The 
Forest Service mission is to manage the public lands primarily on a 
multiple use, sustained yield basis, for outdoor recreation, range, 
timber, watershed and wildlife and fish purpose.
  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS], under the U.S. Department 
of the Interior, administers nearly 92 million acres--13 percent--of 
the Federal lands in the National Wildlife Refuge System. These lands 
are primarily managed under the National Wildlife Refuge System 
Administration Act of 1966 and the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956. 
Overall the FWS administers 511 national wildlife refuges, 174 
waterfowl production areas, and 51 wildlife coordination units. Outside 
the National Wildlife Refuge System, the FWS also administers 24,000 
acres in 23 research centers, 37 administrative sites and 84 fish 
hatcheries. The FWS manages most of the units with the primary purpose 
of wildlife and plant conservation, the specific purposes often are 
described in the status of executive orders which established 
individual refuges. Other uses such as fishing, hunting, grazing, 
timber or mineral use are allowed if comparable with the primary 
purpose of the refuge.
  The National Park Service [NPS], under the Department of the 
Interior, administers nearly 78 million acres--12 percent--of the 
Federal lands in the 368 units of the National Parks System. These 
lands are managed primarily under the individual authorizing 
legislative enactments, including the Alaska National Interest Land 
Conservation Act of 1980 and the California Desert Protection Act of 
1993, and the National Parks Organic Act of 1916, which established the 
National Park Service. The NPS specifically manages 55 units which are 
national parks. The remainder of the lands are scattered across 21 
other kinds of designations, including national monuments, national 
recreation areas, national seashores, national lakeshores, national 
historic sites and national battlefields. The NPS primary purpose is to 
conserve, preserve, protect and interpret natural, cultural and 
historic resources for the public.

  In addition, several Federal land designations are administered by 
more than one of the four major agencies. These are the National 
Wilderness Preservation System [NWPS], the National Trails Systems, the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and the National Monuments.
  The NWPS was established by the Wilderness Act of 1964, which 
designated 9.1 million acres administered by the Forest Service as 
wilderness. It also directed the Federal land managing agencies to 
study the lands under their jurisdiction and recommend lands to be set 
aside as wilderness. In 1980, the size of the wilderness system was 
tripled by lands designated under the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act. In 1984, another 8.6 million acres were added with 
the designation of 21 wilderness areas administered by the Forest 
Service. The BLM set aside 26 million acres for review, and has 
recommended 10 million of those acres for designation as wilderness. 
The FWS administers 81 designated wilderness areas within 64 National 
Wildlife Refuges. In addition, the National Park Service has an 
additional 29 million acres being reviewed for wilderness status. 
Together the entire Wilderness System now has 104 million acres. 
Wilderness areas are kept in an undisturbed status with primitive 
recreation--unaided by motorized equipment--are the only allowed use.
  The Sportmen's Bill of Rights will provide a uniform policy for 
management of this vast array of Federal public lands. I invite my 
colleagues to join me by cosponsoring this important legislation.

                          ____________________