Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers

Full Title:
Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act

Summary#

This bill, the "Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act," would stop the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture from banning the use of lead ammunition or lead fishing tackle on lands or waters they manage that are made available for hunting or fishing. It also prevents those agencies from issuing rules about how much lead can be in ammunition or tackle for those areas. The bill makes two exceptions: it does not override existing rules in section 20.21 or 20.108 of title 50 (as of the date of enactment), and it allows a site-specific ban or regulation for a single unit of land or water if the applicable Secretary finds, based on field data from that unit, that wildlife declines there are primarily caused by lead. Any such site-specific ban must be consistent with state law, consistent with the state's fish and wildlife department policy, or approved by that state department. The Secretary must explain in a Federal Register notice how the site-specific action meets those requirements.

What it means for you#

  • If you hunt or fish on lands or waters managed by the Interior or Agriculture Departments, the bill would generally prevent those agencies from banning lead ammunition or tackle on those areas made available for hunting or fishing.
  • Local, unit-level bans are still possible, but only when agency staff have field data showing that lead is the primary cause of a wildlife decline at that specific unit and the action fits with the listed state requirements.
  • The bill refers to two regulatory sections (20.21 and 20.108 of title 50) as exceptions; the bill text does not explain what those sections say.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on costs or budgetary effects is included in the bill text or metadata provided.

Proponents' View#

The bill text and title indicate that sponsors intend to protect hunter and angler access by forbidding broad agency bans on lead ammunition and tackle on managed lands and waters, while still allowing limited, site-specific actions that meet strict data and state-consistency tests.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information on opponents' views is included in the bill text or metadata provided.