Hunting Sense

I was reading the Moose Droppings blog this morning and discovered there is a Senate Bill intended to protect our federal hunting lands.

SB 408 was introduced by Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss and is a bill “To recognize the heritage of hunting and provide opportunities for continued hunting on Federal public land.” It is to be officially recognized as the ‘Hunting Heritage Protection Act’, a title that I like the sound of.

I’m glad to see Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhoffe’s name attached to the bill, as that is my home state. Reading through part of the bill, I find some interesting findings listed that I am glad have been noticed.

(1) recreational hunting is an important and traditional recreational activity in which 13,000,000 people in the United States 16 years of age and older participate;

(2) hunters have been and continue to be among the foremost supporters of sound wildlife management and conservation practices in the United States;

(3) persons who hunt and organizations relating to hunting provide direct assistance to wildlife managers and enforcement officers of the Federal Government and State and local governments;

(4) purchases of hunting licenses, permits, and stamps and excise taxes on goods used by hunters have generated billions of dollars for wildlife conservation, research, and management;

(5) recreational hunting is an essential component of effective wildlife management by–

(A) reducing conflicts between people and wildlife; and

(B) providing incentives for the conservation of–

(i) wildlife; and

(ii) habitats and ecosystems on which wildlife depend;

(6) each State has established at least 1 agency staffed by professionally trained wildlife management personnel that has legal authority to manage the wildlife in the State; and

(7) recreational hunting is an environmentally acceptable activity that occurs, and can be provided for, on Federal public land without adverse effects on other uses of the land.

An important aspect of the bill is the ‘No Net Loss’ aspect, which is something numerous states have recently passed on their own. In general, ‘No Net Loss’ ensures that the amount of land available for public hunting is not reduced by any actions taken toward such land. This guarantees the availabilty of land available for hunters to use in both the present and the future.

I can not stress enough how important this bill is for sportsmen. I urge everyone to contact their Senators and stress to them the need to support SB 408.

hunting, legislation, Senate, SB 408, hunting heritage, Hunting Heritage Protection Act, No Net Loss, public lands, recreation, sportsmen, hunters