Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a legislative hearing on five bills that support wildlife conservation, provide local control to certain federal recreational concession areas and promote coastal restoration. Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) issued the following statement in response:

“The five bills that the Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee considered today will continue Republican efforts to conserve and protect wildlife, water management, and restore our coastlands. These reforms, if enacted, would help protect our communities, our local economies, and our environment.”

Background

H.R. 6352, the Tax Stamp Revenue Transfer for Wildlife and Recreation Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), amends the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986 by apportioning tax revenues received from the transfer of firearm silencers to the Pittman Roberston Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund for wildlife conservation and the construction and maintenance of recreational shooting ranges.

H.R. 8413, the Swanson and Hugh Butler Reservoirs Land Conveyances Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), transfers federal recreational areas at the Swanson Reservoir and the Hugh Butler Reservoir to Frontier County and Hitchcock County in southern Nebraska.

H.R. 8632, the Biodiversity Oversight Scaled-Back and Fully Erased Act of 2024, introduced by U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), requires the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw the proposed rule titled "National Wildlife Refuge System; Biological Integrity, Diversity, and Environmental Health." This rule would significantly change how the National Wildlife Refuge System operates and limit land managers' ability to use essential management tools on refuge system lands. 

H.R. 8836, the Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), codifies existing agency activities and makes changes to conservation programs to enhance funding for the conservation of migration corridors for big game species and other wildlife.

Discussion Draft of H.R. _____, introduced by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), creates a grant program to advance coastal restoration activities in the lower Mississippi River watershed, similar to federal funding activities in other areas of the country.