The MAPWaters Act would improve recreation on federal waterways by investing in modern technology to provide anglers, hunters, boaters, and other water users the information they need to safely and legally access and utilize public waters administered by federal agencies.
The bipartisan legislation is led by Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.).
“The MAPWaters Act will help Americans make the most of their days on the water by directing federal agencies to clarify the complex rules of public waterways and making them readily available,” said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “This bipartisan legislation will ensure Americans recreate safely and legally as they enjoy our nations waters.”
The MAPWaters Act builds on the success of the MAPLand Act by directing federal agencies to digitize water and fishing access and recreational use information on federal waterways and to make those resources readily available to the public. Federal waterways include any portion of a body of water managed, or partially managed, by one or more of the following federal agencies: the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Forest Service.
This newly digitized public information would include:
• Status information on which waterways are open or closed to entry or watercraft, including watercraft inspection or decontamination requirements.
• The areas of waterways with restrictions on motorized propulsion, horsepower, or gasoline fuel.
• Types of watercraft that are restricted on each area of a waterway, including the permissibility of canoes, rafts, motorboats, airboats, oversnow vehicles on frozen bodies of water, etc.
• The location and geographic boundaries of fishing restrictions on recreational and commercial fishing, including full or partial closures, no-take zones, and fishing restrictions within or surrounding marine protected areas.
• Fishing restrictions concerning specific types of equipment or bait, such as restrictions on the use of barbed hooks or live bait and requirements with respect to catch and release.
Much of this information is housed in agency documents and difficult for the public to discover and access. For example, in the Code of Federal Regulations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service includes 42 pages worth of National Wildlife Refuge specific recreation rules, many of which are tied to waterway navigation, use, and fishing.
The clarity and accessibility of regulations for both the public and the agencies entrusted to manage these waters will result in more Americans confidently accessing and enjoying their public waters.
Learn more about TRCP’s commitment to public access HERE.
The MAPWaters Act would improve recreation on federal waterways by investing in modern technology to provide anglers, hunters, boaters, and other water users the information they need to safely and legally access and utilize public waters administered by federal agencies.
The bipartisan legislation is led by Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.).
“The MAPWaters Act will help Americans make the most of their days on the water by directing federal agencies to clarify the complex rules of public waterways and making them readily available,” said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “This bipartisan legislation will ensure Americans recreate safely and legally as they enjoy our nations waters.”
The MAPWaters Act builds on the success of the MAPLand Act by directing federal agencies to digitize water and fishing access and recreational use information on federal waterways and to make those resources readily available to the public. Federal waterways include any portion of a body of water managed, or partially managed, by one or more of the following federal agencies: the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Forest Service.
This newly digitized public information would include:
• Status information on which waterways are open or closed to entry or watercraft, including watercraft inspection or decontamination requirements.
• The areas of waterways with restrictions on motorized propulsion, horsepower, or gasoline fuel.
• Types of watercraft that are restricted on each area of a waterway, including the permissibility of canoes, rafts, motorboats, airboats, oversnow vehicles on frozen bodies of water, etc.
• The location and geographic boundaries of fishing restrictions on recreational and commercial fishing, including full or partial closures, no-take zones, and fishing restrictions within or surrounding marine protected areas.
• Fishing restrictions concerning specific types of equipment or bait, such as restrictions on the use of barbed hooks or live bait and requirements with respect to catch and release.
Much of this information is housed in agency documents and difficult for the public to discover and access. For example, in the Code of Federal Regulations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service includes 42 pages worth of National Wildlife Refuge specific recreation rules, many of which are tied to waterway navigation, use, and fishing.
The clarity and accessibility of regulations for both the public and the agencies entrusted to manage these waters will result in more Americans confidently accessing and enjoying their public waters.
Learn more about TRCP’s commitment to public access HERE.
Greater Sage Grouse Land Use Planning Complete in Colorado and Oregon
TRCP urges the BLM to work with states to expeditiously complete remaining plans.
Recently, the Bureau of Land Management signed records of decision for greater sage grouse plan amendments in Colorado and Oregon, two of the 10 Western states where plans are being updated in response to a court ruling.
“For more than a decade, state agencies have worked in an unprecedented collaboration with the BLM to revise management plans to conserve over 67 million acres of sagebrush habitat,” said Madeleine West, vice president of Western conservation for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “The completion of plans in Colorado and Oregon is great progress toward ending the cycle of planning so that agency staff and resources can move back to where it needs to be -on species and land management to benefit the sagebrush ecosystem and Western communities that rely on it.”
In November 2024, the BLM issued final plans across the 10 state range of the greater sage grouse (California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming) and has been working since that time to resolve administrative protests and consistency reviews by several Governors.
“With these new plans, the BLM has removed some poison pills that existed in the 2015 plans, retained important changes included in the plans finalized in 2020 to respect state authorities, and incorporated updated science to reflect an improved understanding of ecosystem needs over the last decade,” added West. “We hope the Trump Administration will pick up this work quickly and collaborate with the remaining states to finalize all the plans in a manner that creates durable management in a consistent manner across the remaining range of the species.”
The TRCP has been on the front lines of sage grouse conservation for years. The decline of this iconic game bird of the American West indicates that sagebrush habitat is in trouble, and that matters for sportsmen and women because the sagebrush ecosystem is home to more than 350 different species of plants and animals, including such iconic game species as pronghorn and mule deer.
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.
In this first installment of her two-part story, TRCP’s energy policy advisor McKay Fleck writes how the equipment a family shares in the woods, and the public land that makes it all possible, binds them and adds to the long tradition of hunting camp
In 2018, I earned my hunting guide’s license. I’d be guiding for a fledgling company that a friend established, and my dad and brother decided to drive out from Oregon to be my first clients. I hadn’t been able to hunt with them since 2008, so this 10-year reunion was bound to be special.
I’d been living in Wyoming for several years at this point and had reasonable success hunting on public land in my new home, so I felt confident in my ability to find them some deer. My dad had raised my older brother and me in hunting camps on Forest Service land since we were six-years-old, and one of my earliest memories is being absolutely furious that my brother was old enough to go hunting with my dad before me. But I suppose there’s no easy way to explain linear time to a toddler.
Growing up, our hunting camps were filled with relatives, stories, and tents used long before I was born. Generations had passed down guns, gear, and hard lessons year after year until the sedimentary layers of stories had solidified into traditions that stood the test of time. We carved our tactics out of these stories, learning from the mistakes made by young hunters chasing mature deer and elk since time immemorial. Now, it was my turn to run the camp.
Bonnie Maplesden (left) and Ryan Fleck, brother and sister, shot the same bull in 1996 outside of John Day, Oregon.
We planned the trip four months in advance. My dad and brother Adam had to figure out what they could fit in their truck and what gear I already had here in Wyoming. My dad planned to bring an old wall tent for us to sleep in, and I would have to figure out where to put it on the mountain.
When I say “old wall tent” I mean it. It was made for service in World War I. After the Great War, it was used as a cook tent for cattle camps on their ranch in California, before trucks could make it up into the Siskiyou Mountains. The ranch sold while my dad was in college, but the old tent was still employed. My family continued to use it as a cook tent for hunting camps when they moved north into Oregon. My dad would set up a cot in the corner and be the first one up, heating the tent while coffee boiled on a rusty propane heater. The roof is perforated with starlight, a Milky Way of holes from a century of hot ash, mold, and moths. The ceiling lets in just enough light for sleepy kids to find new constellations in the ancient canvas. Despite the romantic image on clear nights, we had to put a tarp over the holey canvas to keep out the Oregon weather.
So when I saw that my friends were selling their 10x12ft wall tent with an awning and wood stove for $300 on Facebook Marketplace, I jumped at the chance. I called my brother immediately and asked if he wanted to split the price with me, and he agreed.
“Hey Dad, McKay’s friends are selling this really nice wall tent. Would you want to buy it?” he asked, showing our dad the advertisement.
“Absolutely! That’s a good-looking tent for a good price,” he replied, enthusiastically.
“Oh, too bad…it looks like it already sold. Oh well, maybe we’ll keep an eye out for one next year,” my brother lied. It was a spur of the moment decision. The tent would be a surprise early birthday gift for our dad. We had to conspire quickly. How would he be able to keep Dad from bringing the old wall tent without telling him about the new one?
Despite our dad’s protestations, we packed him up and hauled him up the mountain amid his cries of “this doesn’t need to be an exercise in survival!”
The friends we bought the new tent from helped me set up the camp before my family arrived. We cut lodge pole pines in the spring and stripped them of their bark, rotating the poles weekly as they dried. These friends were rendezvous reenactors; they spent decades going to traditional rendezvous wearing old fashioned handmade clothing, shooting flintlock rifles and traditional long bows. This wall tent had raised both of their kids, rode on the back of a pack string, and kept them warm through their own hunting camps. Buying this tent from them and learning how to set it up was like becoming a part of their family.
It was sunny and warm when my dad and brother arrived at my house in Wyoming. We had the evening to catch up and organize our gear before heading up the mountain the next day. We convinced our dad that I “borrowed” a tent and that it was already set up. The next day we would drive to the camp and get settled before the opening day of hunting season.
That’s when the storm hit. Wyoming weather at its finest dropped about 18 inches of snow overnight. Sixty mile per hour winds, sub-zero temperatures, and drifted snow weren’t going to prevent my brother and me from delivering the best birthday surprise ever! Despite our dad’s protestations, we packed him up and hauled him up the mountain amid his cries of “this doesn’t need to be an exercise in survival!”
When we reached the BLM road that turned to the camp, we were completely snow blind. I got out of the truck and led the way on foot, bouncing back and forth between the ditches so that my brother could keep his truck on the road. Our dad was still cussing at us, trying to convince us to turn around. Tears froze on my face as I searched for the white canvas tent in the snowstorm. Finally, we arrived. Dad was still skeptical until we untied the door of the tent, and he saw the sign: “Happy Birthday Dad!!!!” He laughed as we explained how we conspired about the tent and how hard it was to keep the secret. The surprise was a success, though he insisted that the frigid winds were making his eyes and nose water.
The new wall tent was quite the birthday surprise.
I stayed awake all night feeding the wood stove and listening to the dulcet tones of twin chainsaws snoring on the cots next to me. When it was finally time to get up and hunt, the wind had not subsided. We hiked up the draw close to camp as the sun rose, post-holing through snow drifts and looking for any deer who didn’t have enough sense to escape the mountain before the storm. By lunch time, my dad was certain that we were trying to kill him, so we made the tough decision to abandon the camp and hunt from town.
Desperate for a backup plan, I called my friend and outfitter, Cindy. She had permission to cross private land to access a state section and graciously offered to take us out there for a mule deer.
Cindy patiently guides Adam toward some Wyoming mule deer.
The next afternoon, we met Cindy at the edge of the property. My dad could watch from the truck as Cindy, my brother and I scoured the state land for my brother’s fist deer. It wasn’t long before we spotted a group of mule deer about 200 yards away, and a forked-horn buck among them. We crawled to the crest of the hill on our bellies, and I sat back while Cindy coached my brother. She was so patient, reassuring him that if he didn’t feel comfortable with the shot, we could find a different animal. He had our great-uncle’s Remington 721, the only gun he had to hunt with, which was sighted to 100 yards. My brother turned and looked back at me.
“Where should I shoot him?” he asked.
I reached up and poked him in the ribs behind his arm. He nodded, settled back into the prone position, and fired. He made an excellent shot, the buck dropped, and our dad watched the whole thing from the truck.
Adam’s first deer with his great-uncle’s Remington 721.
The next day, we went back out to the same spot with the intention of dad experiencing a similar hunt. It was an easy pack out and we knew there were more deer in the area. However, when we arrived at the state land, two cow elk were nestled in a snowbank about 400 yards away. Cindy asked me if I had a cow tag, which I did. My dad laughed and handed over the same Remington that my brother had used the day before. And just like the day before, my dad watched one of his kids harvest an animal on public lands with his uncle’s rifle. We dragged the elk back to the truck and went home to celebrate.
The family celebrates McKay’s cow elk.
The next day, the weather had shifted back from winter wonderland to sunny and warm. We decided to go take down the wall tent that we had left on the mountain. We were disappointed that we didn’t spend another night in the tent, but my dad and brother were leaving on Saturday, and they wanted to be organized for the long drive. Most of the snow had already melted, and the road to the camp was a muddy mess. We packed everything up and surfed our way down the mountain on a tidal wave of bentonite clay.
As we drove back, I asked my brother to stop the truck on the rim of a draw not far from the road on BLM land. “Dad and I both still have deer tags to fill, so let’s take a minute to glass.”
After a few minutes, I saw a buck bedded down at the bottom of the draw a half mile away. I asked my dad if he wanted to try for it, and we decided to put on a stalk.
My brother stayed with the truck as Dad and I walked to the edge of the draw. It was a steep scree slope dotted with the occasional mahogany shrub. A lone juniper offered us shelter as we surveyed our route to the buck.
“Could you make a shot from here?” I asked my dad.
“Nope, just a little too far for my comfort.”
We inched our way closer. I moved down the slope, careful not to loosen any rocks or stab myself on a mahogany sticker.
“How about now?”
“I can’t even see him from this spot!”
I was beginning to see why he hadn’t harvested a deer in so long. I picked my way to a new spot, about 80 yards from the buck and my dad eased his way over to me.
“How about now?” I asked, as he looked through the scope of the Remington 721.
“This ought to do. Just let me take my glasses off real quick.” He lowered the gun to remove his glasses. I continued to watch the buck through my binoculars. The deer was bedded down at the edge of the mahogany and hadn’t moved since we began our decent. The wind was in our favor as I waited for the report of the rifle.
“Dad, hurry up.” I was not as patient as Cindy.
“Hang on, I’m just making sure,” he said as he brought the rifle up again. I waited.
“DAD.”
“I want to take my hat off first.” He fumbled with his wool cap, and I began to wonder if the buck could see the sun shining off his bald head. I watched through my binoculars as the shot rang out and the buck disappeared from my vision.
I jumped up and ran to rock outcropping and saw the buck, still laying in his bed. My dad had made an excellent shot, and the buck never woke up from his nap.
The Remington 721 completed the Fleck trifecta with this buck taken by McKay’s father.
Packing this deer out was more difficult than the last one, as we had to go straight up the slope. I ran back to the truck to retrieve my brother and we carried the deer out of the draw for our dad. We loaded our harvest on top of the wall tent in the back of the truck and headed back to town to celebrate once again. Three days, three tags filled on public land, and one rifle.
The next time my brother and dad would see that tent would be 2024.
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.
How the 119th Congress Can Deliver for Hunters and Anglers
How lawmakers can build on recent conservation successes and deliver big wins for the hunting and fishing community
The 118th Congress was productive for hunters, anglers, and the TRCP community. Alongside our partners, we celebrated the passage of the EXPLORE Act, America’s Conservation Enhancement Act, and the Water Resources Development Act which all contained important provisions for habitat conservation and access, but there is still work to be done.
The 119th Congress officially began on January 3, 2025. Amid the uncertainty of navigating a presidential transition, new leadership in the Senate, and fresh faces sitting atop numerous committees, Congress has the potential to deliver big wins for fish and wildlife, habitat conservation, and hunting, fishing, and recreational access.
Below are a few ways the 119th Congress can advance conservation and access:
Pass a Farm Bill
Yet another Farm Bill expiration deadline came and went in late 2024 without a new bill being signed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is still operating on the 2018 Farm Bill, leaving big opportunities on the table to expand support for voluntary access and habitat conservation programs on private lands. As Agriculture Committees return to work with new leadership, the TRCP will be pushing for a Farm Bill that supports wildlife, habitat, and hunters and anglers across the country.
Among the most impactful things that this Congress can do to bolster conservation and access is to invest Inflation Reduction Act funds into the Farm Bill baseline, making them permanent. Failure to do so would wipe out billions of dollars that go directly to farmers and ranchers through these popular, voluntary programs. The good news is there was bipartisan support last Congress among leadership of Agriculture Committees to roll these funds into the Farm Bill baseline.
Unlock More Access Opportunities for Hunters and Anglers
Photo James Wicks
Hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreationists had plenty to cheer about in the 118th Congress with the passage of the EXPLORE Act, a first of its kind recreation-focused legislative package. However, Congress still has work to do in the 119th to unlock more access opportunities on federal waterways and oceans.
Here are a few ways Congress can do this:
Pass the MAPWaters Act. The MAPWaters Act would require federal land management agencies to digitize water and fishing access and recreational use information on federal waterways and make those resources available to the public. The bill passed both the House and Senate last Congress on sweeping bipartisan margins, but minor differences in the two bills meant that the bill ultimately failed to cross the finish line in the 118th Congress.
Pass the MAPOceans Act. Like the MAPWaters Act, the MAPOceans Act would require NOAA to create a publicly accessible database that outlines fishing restrictions and closures, boating restrictions and closures, and allowable methods of take in federal waters.
Reauthorize the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund. Established by the Great American Outdoors Act, the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund is set to expire. This fund provides federal land management agencies with resources to address the backlog of deferred maintenance projects. Congress should act to reauthorize this important source of funding to restore and expand access opportunities on public lands.
Given the demonstrated, broad support, the 119th Congress should move quickly to send these common-sense bills to the President’s desk.
Streamline Permitting for Restoration Projects
Photo by J. M. Villarreal/USDA
Despite a compromise deal emerging from the Senate, the 118th Congress ultimately failed to pass a comprehensive permitting reform legislative package. Permitting reform talks have largely focused on expediting environmental review for energy and transmission projects, but Congress must also address the issue of overly cumbersome and excessive delays on approving ecosystem restoration and other environmentally beneficial projects. Currently, these projects go through the same approval process as other development and infrastructure projects, which creates unnecessary hurdles and complicates on-the-ground habitat restoration work. These projects help support recreational access and sustain the $1.1 trillion annual outdoor economy.
TRCP worked with our partners to develop common-sense recommendations to cut through the “green tape” that delays conservation and restoration projects. By developing a categorical exclusion specific to the Department of Interior for restoration actions and simplifying, and scaling, mitigation as a component of permitting, Congress can help get more conservation and restoration work on the ground and reduce the amount of money spent on environmental analysis without diminishing protections under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or other bedrock environmental statutes.
Conserve Big Game Migration Corridors
The Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act, introduced in the 118th Congress, would formally authorize existing federal programs initiated by the Department of the Interior during the Trump Administration through Secretarial Order 3362, signed by then-Secretary Ryan Zinke, to conserve big game migration corridors through voluntary financial and technical assistance to states, Tribes, and private landowners.
These programs have been supported and expanded by the Biden Administration but remain discretionary, meaning that they rely on federal agencies setting aside funding each year to continue implementing these programs. Congressional action to formalize these discretionary programs would guarantee that the work persists regardless of administration changes. This is important because the annual budgets of state and Tribal wildlife agencies are unable to meet the full demand for resource management. The financial and technical assistance from these federal programs would help to bridge that funding gap.
The Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act gained momentum in the 118th Congress having hearings in both the House and Senate which presents a strong jumping off point for swift consideration in the 119th Congress. Passing this bill would represent the culmination of nearly a decade of work by the hunting and fishing community while building upon the success of existing big game habitat conservation efforts.
Support Wildlife Habitat Connectivity and Public Access in the Highway Bill
Photo by Colorado Department of Transportation.
Congress passed a comprehensive surface transportation and infrastructure bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), in 2021. The IIJA included numerous conservation investments championed by TRCP and our partners including generational investments in wildlife crossing infrastructure, fish passage, public land access, and natural infrastructure solutions. Many of these programs funded under the IIJA are set to expire in fiscal year 2026, handing the 119th Congress an opportunity to build on the success of these programs that benefit fish and wildlife habitat, reduce costs, create jobs, and enhance public safety.
For example, the IIJA allocated $350 million to the Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program, a first-of-its-kind grant program to construct wildlife-friendly roadway infrastructure to reduce wildlife vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity for big game and other wildlife. IIJA has also provided investments in aquatic connectivity, which have addressed barriers to fish passage and improved aquatic habitat and have similarly spurred innovation and collaboration across numerous federal and state agencies and other partners and should be prioritized in a surface transportation bill.
Simply put, the Wildlife Crossings Pilot is successful partnership-based program that leverages expertise and funds across numerous federal and state departments and Congress should seek to permanently authorize this program and allocate additional funds to better meet demand.
The 119th Congress should also seek to enhance access opportunities for hunters, anglers, and recreationists through a surface transportation bill. Despite a surface transportation reauthorization bill being colloquially called a “Highway Bill,” there’s an opportunity to improve access to remote, rural public lands through partnerships with counties. Congress could establish a pilot program to make grants available to counties to digitize records and make information publicly available on the location and status of county-maintained roads.
Develop Tax Policy Updates that Fund Conservation
Photo by seth schulte on Unsplash
Republican leadership in the House and Senate are widely expected to prioritize a broad tax reform package in 2025. This provides an opportunity for the 119th Congress to close tax loopholes that divert funds away from conservation.
The rise of online marketplaces that facilitate direct-to-consumer sales from overseas manufacturers has created a growing loophole that is undermining the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. The federal excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment established under Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson is not being collected on foreign-made fishing tackle and archery equipment sold direct from overseas to U.S. consumers, and online marketplaces are not currently responsible for collecting the excise tax on archery and fishing tackle imports. Any comprehensive legislative package on tax policy must close this loophole that accounts for an estimated annual loss of $17 million dollars that would otherwise go to fund state fish and wildlife management agencies.
Conservation is, and should be, a shared priority regardless of party affiliation or ideology. Congress needs to hear that conservation is important to you. For more information, and to take action in support of critical conservation priorities in the year ahead, visit the TRCP Action Center.
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
TRCP has partnered with Afuera Coffee Co. to further our commitment to conservation. $4 from each bag is donated to the TRCP, to help continue our efforts of safeguarding critical habitats, productive hunting grounds, and favorite fishing holes for future generations.