News Category: Public Lands

Highlights Why it matters:  The Veterans in Parks Act recognizes the commitments and selfless contributions made by our nation’s Veterans and servicemembers by establishing free lifetime and annual America the Beautiful passes to access our National Parks and federally managed public lands. In many cases, outdoor recreation, particularly hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting, plays…

Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director Highlights Why It Matters: Repealing the ban against Sunday hunting on WMAs would ensure hunters have the same access to WMAs as other user groups, and increasing access and opportunity for hunters is critical to hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation efforts. On November 17, South Carolina Legislative Sportsmen’s…

Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director Highlights Why It Matters: The Virginia Board of Wildlife Resources’ adoption of the resolution expressing support for allowing Sunday hunting on public lands sends a strong message to the Virginia General Assembly as legislation to remove the prohibition on public lands Sunday hunting is considered. In the last two…

Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director Highlights Why It Matters: Sunday hunting prohibitions are Blue Laws with no basis in wildlife management that impede hunter recruitment, retention and reactivation efforts (R3). Other user groups are not prohibited from accessing WMAs on Sundays like hunters are, and South Carolina hunters want equal access to their…

Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director Highlights Why It Matters: Opening Sunday hunting on public lands marks the culmination of a four-year effort to implement the Outdoor Heritage Enhanced Act. North Carolina hunters will now have access to Game Lands seven days a week like other user groups, and the expanded access to 1.6…

Highlights Why it matters: Digital mapping and GPS technologies have fundamentally changed how sportsmen and women traverse federal lands, however, inconsistent, and outdated record keeping practices among federal land management agencies hinders the ability of sportsmen and women to fully take advantage of these technologies. The digitization of public easements, access points, rights-of-way, and other mapping…

Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director On January 4, Virginia Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Delegate James Edmunds introduced legislation that would permit Sunday hunting on public lands. The legislation is co-sponsored by Delegate Rodney Willett. Specifically, HB 1799 would expand the exception to the prohibition against hunting or killing any wild bird or wild animal,…

On September 16, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, along with fellow NGO signatories on the Federal Lands Hunting, Fishing and Shooting Sports Roundtable (Roundtable) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), submitted comments in response to the USFS proposed directive for Closures of National Forest System Lands to Hunting, Fishing, or Recreational Shooting…

On September 14, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and roughly 30 partners from the sporting-conservation community sent a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) thanking the Bureau for their efforts to improve opportunities for recreational shooters. The letter specifically complimented the work of BLM in Arizona to provide improvements and management of informal,…