Hunting Heritage and Fishing Preservation Act of 2004 - Hunting Heritage Protection Act - Requires that Federal public lands be open to access and use for recreational hunting with certain exceptions.
Directs the head of each relevant Federal agency to support, promote, and enhance recreational hunting opportunities.
Declares that Federal land management decisions and actions should, to the extent practicable, result in no net loss of land area available for hunting opportunities on Federal public lands.
Prohibits a withdrawal, change of classification, or change of management status that effectively closes 5,000 or more acres of Federal public land for use for recreational hunting from occurring unless the head of the Federal agency with authority to manage the land has submitted written notice of the action to specified congressional committees.
Freedom to Fish Act - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require that any fishery management plan, which is prepared by any Council or by the Secretary of Commerce, not establish geographic areas where recreational fishing is prohibited unless: (1) clear indication exists that recreational fishing in such area is the cause of a specific conservation problem; (2) no alternative conservation measures will adequately provide for conservation and management of the fishery; (3) the management plan provides for specific measurable criteria to assess whether the prohibition provides conservation benefits to the fishery, and requires periodic review to assess the continued need for the prohibition; (4) the best available scientific information supports the need to close the area to recreational fishing; and (5) the prohibition is terminated as soon as the condition that was the basis of the prohibition no longer exists.
[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.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
Executive Comment Requested from Interior.
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