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Senate Bill Will Help Hunters Gain Access to Public Lands

Boone and Crockett Club

MISSOULA, Mont.--(Ammoland.com)- MISSOULA, Mont.–Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, today introduced legislation –the “Making Public Lands Public Access Act of 2011″– that guarantees funding for improving hunter access to existing public lands.

This bipartisan legislation is supported by the Boone and Crockett Club, the National Rifle Association and other hunting organizations.

The bill directs the U.S. Forest Service and BLM to acquire rights of way and other land interests from willing-seller landowners to open access to existing public lands where public access for hunting and fishing is closed.

“Sportsmen and women want the Forest Service and BLM to provide better access to our national forests and BLM lands for hunting and fishing. Senator Jon Tester and Senator Jim Risch are tackling this problem head on with this bill,” said Ben Wallace, president of the Boone and Crockett Club.

Additionally, Wallace praised Tester and Risch for “their deep commitment to enhancing hunting opportunities on our public lands.” Tester is the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus within the U.S. Senate. Risch is the vice co-chair of the same caucus.

For the 32 million American hunters, anglers and recreational shooters, federal public lands are an increasingly vital to their participation in outdoor sports. Nearly half of all hunters, for example, conduct a portion of their hunting activity on public lands. Reduced access is cited as a primary reason that hunters, anglers and target shooters stop participating in these traditional sports. A 2004 report to the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations concluded that more than 35 million acres of U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land have inadequate access.

Specifically, nearly 2 million acres (or 10 percent) of USFS lands in Montana and 8.4 million acres (or 29 percent) of BLM lands in the Montana/Dakota’s region were identified as having inadequate access.

Sportsmen and women make important contributions to both wildlife conservation and the nation’s economy. The hunting and shooting sports industries create over 160,000 full-time jobs nationwide, generating an economic benefit of over $20 billion annually.

About the Boone and Crockett Club
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes guardianship and visionary management of big game and associated wildlife in North America. The Club maintains the highest standards of fair-chase sportsmanship and habitat stewardship. Member accomplishments include enlarging and protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Mont. For details, visit www.boone-crockett.org.

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Sportsmen Move Closer to Accessing Hundreds of Thousands of Acres of Federal Land

Montana’s public lands are some of the best in the world, and they’re where we pass on our outdoor traditions to our kids and grandkids.

Congressional Sportsmen

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Hundreds of thousands of acres of Federal public land could soon be open to hunting, fishing, trapping and shooting as legislation was introduced in the United States Senate today to guarantee funding for improving public access to federal public lands.

The Making Public Lands Public Act, introduced in the U.S Senate today by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Senate Co-Chair Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and Senate Vice Chair Sen. James Risch of Idaho, would require the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to utilize 1.5% or a minimum of $10 million annually of their Land and Water Conservation Fund budgets for projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal lands through easements, rights-of-way, or fee title acquisitions from willing sellers.

“Montana’s public lands are some of the best in the world, and they’re where we pass on our outdoor traditions to our kids and grandkids,” said Sen. Tester. “But we’re seeing too much of this land blocked, surrounded by private land with closed gates. Montanans who own land are good neighbors. Most are good partners in our fight for public access, and this bill builds on that partnership.”

“This legislation is an important step in opening access to Federal land that is currently inaccessible or significantly restricted to sportsmen’s activities,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President Jeff Crane. “Access to quality habitat is a key to the future of our sportsman’s way of life, and this bill will directly improve access to more public lands so all Americans can enjoy the great outdoor traditions of hunting and fishing.”

Last August, similar language passed the U.S. House of Representatives, as an amendment by CSC Member and former Co-Chair, Rep. Ron Kind, overwhelmingly 404-1 as part of H.R. 3534, the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act.

Federal public lands are an important destination for millions American hunters, anglers, trappers, recreational shooters, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Nearly half of all hunters, for example, conduct a portion of their hunting activity on these lands. In addition, lack of access is cited as a primary reason that hunters and anglers stop participating in these traditional sports. A 2004 report to the House Appropriations Committee, stimulated by a Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) report, concluded that more than 35 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S Forest Service (USFS) land have inadequate access.

“America’s public lands are one of its finest resources and all recreational users should have access to them. This action will help ensure that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the same fishing holes and hunting grounds that our parents and grandparents shared with us,” said Sen. Risch.

CSF, in cooperation with allies in the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP), a group of over 40 non-governmental organizations representing millions of hunter conservationists, launched the “Making Public Lands Public: Enhancing Hunter & Other Recreational Access to Federal Public Lands” initiative two years ago and subsequently requested that BLM and USFS utilize funds to improve hunter and other recreational access to Federal land and have identified opportunities in its list of funding priorities. Such opportunities have been identified as important projects by the Congress as expressed in the U.S. House Report to the FY 2010 Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

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