ACTION ALERT: National Defense Authorization Act Poses Threat to Hunters Nationwide. Dear NWTF Volunteer: Your help is needed immediately to stop legislation that will negatively impact hunter access across the nation. Please contact your Senate delegation before they vote on Tuesday of next week on the National Defense Authorization Act. Ask them to remove public lands provisions that were secretly added to a Defense bill. Specifically ask them to: •Remove language that provides discretion to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Interior to determine the fate and extent of hunting in Wilderness Areas. (Page 1339 of the bill, lines 1-10) •Remove section 3043 from the legislation that would transfer management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service. (Title XXX, Section 3043) If passed, this legislation will give the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture extremely broad discretion on the closure of hunting, fishing, and trapping on newly created Wilderness areas. In excess of 100,000 acres could be closed to hunting if the Secretary unilaterally concludes that there are concerns regarding public safety or administration. The Wilderness Act itself does not afford the Secretary such broad discretion. The Valles Caldera National Preserve Act (Sec. 3043) would transfer management of this 89,000 acre tract to the National Park Service. NWTF has engaged with the New Mexico delegation numerous times and has testified before Congress in opposition to this legislation. The transfer provides too much discretion to regulate hunting, fishing, and trapping activities to an agency not known for active habitat management and providing hunting opportunity. This bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, was passed by the House on Thursday, and will be voted on by the Senate on Tuesday. Because the primary purpose of the Act is to fund our military, it is unlikely that the Senate will vote down this bill. However, it is important to express your views regarding these public lands issues. The NWTF and our partners are proactively working towards an immediate revision of this legislation in 2015, and your contact will help us in that regard. Please contact your Senate delegation immediately to urge them to find a way to strike the provisions that negatively impact sportsmen. You can reach them via the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. If you do not know your Senators, you can find information for your Senators here: United States Senate. Ask to speak to the Legislative Director or the Legislative Assistant who handles defense issues or conservation issues. For more information, contact Joel Pedersen, NWTF Director of Lands and Policy at 803-637-3106.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 03:36:32 +0000