Wyoming Senator introduces HELP bill to enhance America’s sporting heritage
On June 30, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced S.1514, the Hunting Heritage and Environmental Legacy Preservation for Wildlife Act (HELP for Wildlife Act). This bipartisan legislation would: • increase public access for sportsmen and women, • improve fish and wildlife habitat, and • reauthorize funding for fish and wildlife conservation programs. Other pro-sportsmen provisions include:
- Reauthorizing the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) through fiscal years 2018 to 2022. This important program ensures the protection of millions of acres of wetland habitat spanning over all 50 states.
- Ensuring normal agricultural practices are not misconstrued as attempts to bait migratory game birds.
- Providing funding and support for the construction and expansion of public target shooting ranges on Bureau of Land Management lands and National Forests. Ensure that sportsmen and women have the proper infrastructure to participate safely in recreational shooting.
- Reaffirming the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule to remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act in the Great Lakes and Wyoming, and return the management of these populations to state wildlife agencies.
- Ensuring traditional lead-based sport fishing equipment is exempt from the Toxic Substances Control Act.
—courtesy Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO PHOTO
