(Washington, D.C.) – Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Committee passed two significant pieces of legislation for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act (H.R. 615) and the Duck Stamp Modernization Act (H.R. 2872).
These pieces of legislation were developed with input from CSF and are spearheaded by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Member Rep. Rob Wittman and CSC Co-Chair Rep. Garret Graves. Prior to the Committee vote, CSF sent an alert to the Committee urging CSC Members to vote yes on both pieces of legislation. CSF also sent a letter to the Committee in May in strong support of these bills.
“These bills are common-sense, community priorities impacting millions of sportsmen and women across the nation and we thank the House Natural Resources Committee for prioritizing sportsmen and women by voting these two important CSF priorities out of Committee,” said Jeff Crane, CSF President and CEO. “The passing of priorities such as these are a testament to the continued leadership and dedication of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus to our nation’s sporting community.”
The Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act would prohibit the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior from banning the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on select federal lands and waters unless certain science-based and state agency triggers are met. Specifically, the federal lands of focus include lands and waters managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service.
H.R. 615 would ensure that restrictions concerning lead ammunition or fishing tackle are supported by sampling data that demonstrates a negative fish and wildlife population impact for a specific unit of land or water. Secondly, any restrictions on the use of lead ammo and tackle must be consistent with the regulations of the impacted state fish and wildlife agency. Lastly, any restriction on the use of lead ammunition and tackle within the federal lands of focus must have the support of the respective state fish and wildlife agency.
The Duck Stamp Modernization Act is a bipartisan bill that will modernize the federal duck stamp process by allowing hunters to have an electronic Federal Duck Stamp on their smart phone for the entirety of the hunting season.
Under current law, when a hunter purchases an electronic federal duck stamp (e-stamp), the e-stamp is only valid for a period of 45 days to allow for the actual stamp to be mailed. Once the actual stamp is received by the e-stamp purchaser, the actual stamp must be signed across the face of the stamp by the respective hunter and be in the hunter’s possession while afield. To ensure the continuance and integrity of the Federal Duck Stamp art contest, a longstanding tradition for waterfowlers and non-consumptive bird enthusiasts alike, H.R. 2872 will ensure that purchasers of e-stamps still receive the actual stamp in the mail. Specifically, the legislation will provide that actual stamps will be mailed to purchasers from March 10 to June 30.
Signed into law in 1934, the Federal Duck Stamp has generated over $1.1 billion for wetlands conservation and helped conserve over 6 million acres of wetlands within the National Wildlife Refuge System. In 1934, there were roughly 635,000 stamps sold. Today, that number has grown to over 1.5 million stamp purchases, which generates more than $37.5 million annually for wetlands conservation.
Both the Protecting Access for Hunters & Anglers Act and the Duck Stamp Modernization Act await to be scheduled on the House floor for a final vote before heading to the Senate.
