Bill will help hunters access more land

Something that should be of concern to every sportsman, and every true conservationist, for that matter, is the long-term decline in the number of people participating in the hunting sports. As I have pointed out in past columns, it is the hunter who carries the financial burden of paying for America's wildlife management programs. If the current trend continues, who will be willing to step up and take the hunter's place in the finance department?

Who will provide the hundreds of millions of dollars that are used to purchase, restore and protect wildlife habitat each year?

The answer: If not no one, then darn few.

According to Responsive Management, a public opinion and attitude research firm that specializes in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues, one of the primary causes of hunters walking away from hunting and seeking their recreation elsewhere is the lack or loss of public access to land that offers hunting opportunity. In a recent study by Responsive Management, 46 percent of hunters reported that not having enough access to places to hunt played a significant role in reducing their hunting satisfaction.

In its 2009 report, "Issues Related to Hunting Access in the United States: Nevada Results," Responsive Management notes that 48 percent of hunters said that "lack of hunting access had caused them not to hunt a particular species as much as they would have liked in the past five years." Access problems included posted private land, public land blocked by private land, road closures and a simple lack of land to hunt on. Anglers are feeling the public access squeeze as well.

Enter Rep. Dan Benishek, D-Mich., and his recently introduced legislation, the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act (H.R. 2834). "This bill would protect fishing, hunting and recreational shooting on federal lands," noted the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance in a statement of support.

"Sportsmen are increasingly facing attacks aimed at stopping them from using public land," Alliance president Bud Pidgeon said. "This bill closes loopholes that anti-hunters have used time and time again to deny access for hunting, fishing and shooting."

If passed, H.R. 2834 would require that federal land management officials, in cooperation with state fish and wildlife agencies, exercise their authority and land-use planning processes to facilitate the use of and access to federal public lands and waters for the purpose of fishing, sport hunting and recreational shooting. Planning documents, such as resource management plans and travel management plans, will have to include specific evaluation of the effects of such plans on recreational fishing, hunting and shooting opportunities.

Moreover, the bill requires that agencies prepare annual reports detailing any federal land closures to recreational fishing, sport hunting or shooting. The bill's list of co-sponsors includes two members of Nevada's congressional delegation, Reps. Joe Heck and Mark Amodei.

"I'm an avid outdoorsman myself, so I recognize Nevada's deep ties to hunting and fishing on federal land." Heck said. "Recreational fishing, hunting and shooting on public lands are a part of America's heritage, and this bill protects this heritage for Nevadans. As a state where more than 80 percent of the land is owned by the federal government, Nevadans will directly benefit from this bill."

Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His "In the Outdoors" column, published Thursday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own. He can be reached at intheoutdoorslv@gmail.com.