by Mark Chesnut - Friday, November 15, 2024
A group of sportsman’s organizations, including the National Rifle Association, has filed a protest with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over the BLM’s final management plan curtailing sport shooting opportunities at Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) in Utah.
The management plan closes 1.3 million acres of BENM in southeast Utah to recreational shooting and also greatly cuts back hunting opportunities there.
“This is another example of the Biden-Harris administration circumventing the law to punish recreational shooters and cut off access to federal lands,” said Randy Kozuch, NRA-ILA Executive Director, when the proposed plan was released. “This radical decision underscored the importance of the November elections to ensure that those in power respect the Second Amendment and our ability to exercise those freedoms.”
On Nov. 1, the NRA, along with nine other organizations, filed a formal appeal over the new management plan that punishes shooters and hunters for no legitimate conservation-based reason.
“Our protest is simply stated: The BLM violated the Dingell Act … by prohibiting recreational shooting in its entirety on Bears Ears National Monument,” the appeal stated.
A 2019 law known as the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act declared it national policy that the BLM and U.S. Forest Service consider hunting, fishing and recreational shooting (HFRS) opportunities as part of federal land, resource and travel management plans. It also declared it national policy that these agencies conserve and enhance the management of wild game species and their habitats—including through hunting and fishing—in concert with state fish and game laws.
According to the organizations filing the protest, the new Bears Ears plan greatly misses that mark. That’s what prompted the group back in June to submit a comment letter pointing out the significant flaws, lack of scientific data and overall bias of BLM’s presentation and discussion of recreational shooting within the monument in the proposed plan.
“Although the agency acknowledged our comment letter in the final Management Plan, we cannot agree with the BLM that ‘consistent with the Dingell Act, the Proposed Plan would designate as closed to dispersed recreational shooting the smallest area for the least amount of time that is required for public safety, administration, and compliance with applicable law,’” the protest stated. “There is nothing in the final rule to suggest that the BLM carefully considered alternatives, as required under the Dingell Act, and thus it appears the agency decided to take the most politically expedient route instead of what is required by law.”
As NRA-ILA has shared in the past, while restricting access to opportunities for responsible, recreational shooting, the plan could also lead to lost revenue for conservation efforts. This is because many of the wildlife conservation initiatives across America are funded through excise taxes on the purchases of guns, ammo and related equipment.
When it comes to hunting, the plan does give some cover to the administration to claim it isn’t anti-hunting by technically allowing for it on BENM. However, it severely limits vehicle access in remote areas of the monument, putting them out of play for many older and/or less mobile hunters who depend on off-road vehicles to reach their hunting areas.
The 10 sportsman’s groups filing the protest comprise the Hunting and Shooting Sports Roundtable, created by the Federal Lands Hunting, Fishing and Shooting Sports Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The member groups have been engaged in federal land management planning processes since the first MOU was signed in 1999. They represent millions of Americans from across the United States, many of whom depend on federal lands for recreational shooting and hunting.
Along with the NRA, other member organizations are the Archery Trade Association, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Boone and Crockett Club, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Dallas Safari Club, Delta Waterfowl, National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
About the Author
Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC in Jenks, Okla. An avid hunter, shooter and field-trialer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for over 25 years.