Dear BHA Members,
You may know that the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 4089, the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act, this week.
As a sportsmen’s conservation organization, we felt compelled to comment. While we support numerous parts of this bill, there are specific details that could result in enormous negative consequences for world renowned hunting and fishing destinations, conservation and public lands fish and wildlife habitat.
In a letter to the House this week, BHA asked the House of Representatives to address these outstanding issues.
BHA knows that our members depend on keeping public lands open for hunting and fishing, andwe will defend that legacy with all we have.
However, included in the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act is specific language that would undermine the proud heritage American sportsmen have been defending for generations:
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Section 104(e) (1) in H.R. 4089 would open Wilderness Areas to motorized vehicles, helicopters, road building and any other imaginable tool that is used for hunting or fishing, but is not allowed in Wilderness. This would undermine world class hunting destinations such as the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana, the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho and the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico. - Section 104(e) (2) would allow industrial development of Wilderness areas. Activities such as industrial logging and oil and gas drilling are inappropriate for our nation’s Wilderness areas.
- We have problems with language under 104(1) (b) and 104(1) (c) that would prohibit adequate NEPA review of management decisions. The way the language is written in this section, it could actually result in less hunting opportunity.
As sportsmen who know and use our public lands, we urge our Representatives to fix these major problems with H.R. 4089!
About Caitlin Thompson