Why It Matters: The hearing on the Duck Stamp Modernization Act and the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act marks the first significant step in the legislative process for these bills. This hearing demonstrates the Subcommittee’s commitment to sportsmen and women through the prioritization of important conservation and access priorities.
Highlights:
- Last week, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, Fisheries held a legislative hearing on several bills, including two priorities for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF).
- The first bill, known as the Duck Stamp Modernization Act (H.R. 2872), is led by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Vice Chair Rep. Garret Graves and CSC Member Rep. Mike Thompson seeks to modernize the Federal Duck Stamp program.
- The second CSF priority considered by Committee, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act (H.R. 615), which is led by CSC Member Rep. Rob Wittman seeks to protect the use of traditional ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands against unsubstantiated attacks on the use of these products.
Last Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on two top CSF priorities. Prior to the hearing, CSF submitted a statement for the record in strong support of both the Duck Stamp Modernization Act and the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act.
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.
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 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 require that any claims indicating a decline in fish and wildlife populations at a specific unit of land or water where lead ammunition and tackle is being restricted must be substantiated through field data from that unit. 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 Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation thanks the Subcommittee for a holding on these two bills and thanks the bill sponsors for leading these important pieces of legislation. CSF looks forward to working with the bill sponsors to advance these priorities through the legislative process.
