Public-Lands Bill Receives Final Senate Approval

News for Immediate Release
Jan. 15, 2009
Contact: Tom Franklin, 202-654-4617, tfranklin@trcp.org

Public-Lands Bill Receives Final Senate Approval

Hunters and anglers urge continued focus on measures beneficial to fish and wildlife populations, sporting opportunities as bill moves to House

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate today voted its final approval of S. 22, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, a package of more than 150 public lands, water and resources bills that includes measures of critical importance to sportsmen and is supported by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. S. 22 now moves on to the U.S. House, where its prompt passage is expected.

“We have cleared a major hurdle in the effort to sustain fish and wildlife populations on our nation’s public lands,” said TRCP Senior Vice President Tom Franklin, “yet significant steps remain to be taken. Sportsmen urge continued vigilance and action by federal policymakers to assure that these precious, finite natural resources are responsibly managed into the future.”

The omnibus lands package was developed by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and enjoyed bipartisan support. The Senate convened a rare Sunday vote this week to advance the legislation, which supporters argued included crucial measures intended to conserve some of the nation’s most valuable public lands.

Conservation measures in S. 22 of particular importance to sportsmen include the Wyoming Range Legacy Act and National Landscape Conservation System, both of which enable continued access by sportsmen to exceptional hunting and fishing opportunities in the American West. Passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act would prohibit further energy leasing on 1.2 million acres of prime big-game habitat and native trout waters and permit conservation groups to buy and retire existing energy leases. Codification of the National Landscape Conservation System would conserve hunting and fishing opportunities on millions of acres of Bureau of Land Management lands that already have been pinpointed as comprising some of the nation’s most significant extant fish and wildlife habitat.

“The TRCP welcomes Senate passage of this important public-lands legislation,” continued Franklin, “and we offer the House our counsel and assistance as it considers how best to safeguard some of America’s most iconic landscapes – and uphold our country’s unparalleled hunting and fishing heritage.”

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions
of hunting and fishing.

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