On Wednesday, June 12, the House Committee on Natural Resources voted 28-15 in favor of the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act (H.R. 1825). Introduced by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) member Representative Dan Benishek, this legislation would require the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service to keep their lands open to hunting, recreational fishing and shooting and facilitate the use of and access to federal public lands and waters for these activities, pursuant to reasonable exceptions. Limited access is one of the top reasons cited as to why sportsmen and women stop participating in these activities. H.R. 1825 can help increase access to further recruitment and retention of sportsmen and women.
CSF will keep you apprised as this legislation continues to move forward.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
