Why It Matters: As Americans realize the lure of living in a coastal state, like South Carolina, that provides seemingly limitless opportunities for outdoor recreation, it is critical to keep public access front of mind both now and into the future. South Carolina, like many other states on the East Coast, has been faced with rapid population growth, in part, thanks to the many outdoor opportunities that the state has to offer. Proactive policies that limit the loss of publicly available hunting and fishing access are critical to conserving opportunities for the Palmetto State’s sportsmen and women.
Highlights:
- On January 30, South Carolina Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) Co-Chair and National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) Executive Council member Representative Bobby Cox and Caucus Co-Chair Representative Heather Bauer introduced House Bill 3872, which would limit the loss of hunting access by establishing a minimum acreage of publicly owned areas open to South Carolina’s sportsmen and women.
- Commonly referred to as “Hunting Heritage Protection Acts,” these policies establish a baseline of publicly owned areas open to hunting in the state.
- House Bill 3872 has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs where it awaits consideration.
While this is a new concept to South Carolina, the “No Net Loss” of publicly owned areas open to hunting is not new to the sporting-conservation scene. Other southeastern states like Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi were among the first states to take a proactive approach to conserving public hunting and fishing access for future generations. Further, after originally enacting No Net Loss legislation in 2005, Georgia even updated their No Net Loss baseline to protect an additional 200,000 acres in 2022.
House Bill 3872 applies to lands owned by the state of South Carolina in which the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) holds management authority, privately owned lands that are leased or managed by the SCDNR, and those lands managed by the State Forestry Commission that are enrolled in the SCDNR’s Wildlife Management Area Program. Additional details of House Bill 3872 include:
- SCDNR managed lands must be open to access used for hunting, except as limited by the SCDNR for reasons of fish and wildlife management or otherwise limited by statute outside the authority of the SCDNR;
- Land management decisions made by the SCDNR, or decisions made by private owners to close land managed by the SCDNR, that results in the net loss of acreage available for hunting opportunities on managed lands that exist as of January 1, 2026 requires that the SCDNR expeditiously find replacement acreage to compensate for closures of any existing hunting land; and
- By July first of each year, the SCDNR must submit a written report to the Senate Fish, Game, and Forestry Committee and the House Agricultural, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee describing the acreage managed by the SCDNR that was closed to hunting during the previous fiscal year and the reasons for the closure as well as the acreage that was opened to compensate for these closures.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) thanks Representatives Bauer and Cox for their leadership on this critical issue impacting South Carolina’s sportsmen and women. CSF looks forward to working closely alongside the Caucus and our many partners to protect public hunting access for generations to come.
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Summary “No-Net-Loss” of public lands has become increasingly important to ensure access to public lands...