The U.S. House of Representatives passed four bills on Tuesday that could have resounding implications for America\u2019s natural resources and land management policies. Although they are unlikely to pass the Senate or President Biden\u2019s desk, their treatment on the House floor sends a clear message to voters from a mostly Republican-led block of legislators. It also shows the contention around conservation-related issues that outdoorsmen and -women will have to parse ahead of November\u2019s election. <\/p>\n
All four bills are in some way related to environmental protections that have been enacted during the Biden Administration, and they touch on hot-button issues that tend to divide hunters and anglers along political lines. Two bills would reverse key parts of the administration\u2019s agenda by withdrawing a recently enacted BLM rule that elevates conservation as a land use priority, and by rescinding a ban on mining operations near Minnesota\u2019s Boundary Waters. Along with other conservation groups, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers called attention to the risks posed by these bills in the days leading up to Tuesday\u2019s session.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf passed into law, each of these bills would reverse public land management decisions that benefit intact fish and wildlife habitat valued by hunters and anglers across the United States,\u201d BHA warned in a press release<\/a>. \u201cBackcountry Hunters & Anglers strongly opposes these bills that would reverse hard-won conservation achievements supported by our members.\u201d<\/p>\n The other two proposals that passed the House would prohibit federal bans on lead ammunition and fishing tackle, and remove federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Lower 48. Here\u2019s a breakdown of each bill, and how it would impact hunters, anglers, and conservation.<\/p>\n The WEST Act<\/a>, which stands for Western Economic Security Today, would direct the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw its recently enacted Public Lands Rule<\/a>. That rule, which was finalized just two weeks ago, represents a seismic shift in how the federal agency manages public lands by placing conservation and land restoration on equal footing with traditional uses of BLM lands such as energy development, mining, and livestock grazing.<\/p>\n \u201cOur public lands provide wildlife habitat and clean water, the energy that lights our homes, the wood we build with, and the places where we make family memories,\u201d BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said<\/a> of the new Public Lands Rule earlier this month. \u201cThis rule honors our obligation to current and future generations to help ensure our public lands and waters remain healthy amid growing pressures and change.\u201d<\/p>\n Critics of the new rule like Utah Rep. John Curtis, who introduced H.R. 3397, have argued that this change will negatively affect and undermine the traditional uses of BLM land while handicapping the rural residents who depend on them. Curtis has referred to the new rule as an \u201coffensive attack on rural Utah\u201d and as \u201cfavoring wealthy individuals and environmental groups,\u201d according to the Utah News Dispatch<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Read Next: <\/strong>The BLM Wants to Make Conservation a Bigger Land-Use Priority<\/a><\/p>\n The bill passed by a 212-202 vote, with most lawmakers voting along party lines. Three Democrats \u2014 Henry Cullar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington \u2014 joined Republicans in supporting the bill, while Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania was the only Republican representative to vote against it.<\/p>\n On a more localized scale, the Superior National Forest Restoration Act<\/a> would roll back the Biden Administration\u2019s 2023 order to protect the Boundary Waters Wilderness and surrounding national forest lands from mining. It would also require the U.S. Forest Service to reissue all cancelled mineral issues in the area.<\/p>\n Announced in Sept. 2023, the Department of the Interior\u2019s Public Land Order placed a 20-year moratorium on mining<\/a> in roughly 225,000 acres of public lands within the Superior National Forest, effectively halting Twin Metals\u2019 attempts<\/a> at building a copper-nickel mine there. This move was celebrated by sportsmen and conservationists across the country, who view the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as an important and irreplaceable resource that belongs to all American citizens. (On top of being a renowned hunting and fishing destination, the BWCAW is the nation\u2019s most highly visited wilderness area, and the largest of its kind east of the Rockies and north of the Everglades.)<\/p>\n The mine\u2019s proponents have argued that tapping the mineral reserves in the BWCAW is a matter of national and economic security, and they\u2019ve referred to the Biden Administration\u2019s mineral withdrawal as an attack on the rural communities that they say would benefit from the mine. This includes Rep. Pete Stauber, who introduced the Superior National Forest Restoration Act to \u201cremove the obstacles put in place by the Biden Administration\u201d and \u201csafely deliver Minnesota\u2019s mineral wealth to the nation,\u201d the Minnesota Reformer<\/a><\/em> reports.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, conservation groups like Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters<\/a> have denounced Stauber\u2019s proposal as setting a dangerous precedent for America\u2019s wilderness areas. These groups and others have also pointed out that Stauber represents the three Minnesota counties that would benefit the most financially from the Twin Metals mine.<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> The Wilderness War: Ice Fishing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cH.R. 1395 would unravel [the protections achieved in 2023], directly threatening our cherished outdoor traditions in Northeast Minnesota, again making the Quetico-Superior region vulnerable to toxic mining practices,\u201d Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters executive director Lukas Leaf said in a Facebook post<\/a> leading up to the House vote. \u201cThis legislation flies in the face of those who love clean water, wildlife, and the world-class fishing and hunting opportunities the Boundary Waters provides.\u201d<\/p>\n Stauber\u2019s bill passed the House by a vote of 212-203.<\/p>\n The Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act<\/a> seeks to bar the federal government from imposing any bans on lead ammunition or fishing tackle on federal lands. This bill, introduced by Rep. Bob Wittman of Virginia, was floated in direct response to a Final Rule made by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2022 that expanded hunting and fishing at 18 different National Wildlife Refuges across the country, while also banning the use of lead ammo and tackle at those same refuges by 2026. Although some hunters and anglers supported the rule as a way to protect fish and wildlife from lead poisoning, many sportsmen\u2019s groups opposed the rule<\/a> at the outset, calling it a \u201cbait-and-switch\u201d tactic that was not based on the best available science.<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> USFWS Will Expand Hunting and Fishing at 18 National Wildlife Refuges While Phasing Out Lead Ammo and Tackle There<\/a><\/p>\n H.R. 615 passed 214-201, with only two Republican representatives voting against it and seven Democrats supporting it. Some of the bill\u2019s opponents called it an attempt by special interest groups to block any gun-related legislation, while its supporters framed it as a way to ensure that America\u2019s hunters and anglers aren\u2019t priced out of the outdoor sports they love due to the higher cost of non-lead ammo and fishing tackle.<\/p>\n A proposal that would remove ESA protections for all gray wolves in the Lower 48 made it through the House by a narrower margin relative to the other three bills. Led by Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, the Trust the Science Act<\/a> passed 209-205. This bill would require the Department of the Interior to reinstate a 2020 rule that removed gray wolves from the Endangered Species List but that was overturned by a federal judge in 2022.<\/p>\n \nOverturning the BLM Public Lands Rule<\/h2>\n
Overturning Boundary Waters Protections<\/h2>\n
![\"boundary](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/27\/boundary_waters_receive_greater_protections_under_biden.jpeg?w=2000\")
Blocking Lead Ammo and Tackle Bans<\/h2>\n
Delisting Gray Wolves<\/h2>\n