House Committee on Natural Resources Archives - Page 5 of 8

Members Review Proposals to Modernize Federal Fisheries Management

September 26, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans held a legislative hearing on a series of bills aimed at improving federal fisheries management for commercial and recreational fisherman.

“Many of you here today probably consider this to be a fishery hearing, but I assure you it is much more than that. Whether we are talking about a commercial, recreational, or charter boat operation, the working waterfront that provides shore-side support, a boat manufacturer, or your local mom and pop bait and tackle shop, today’s hearing is about supporting American small businesses,” Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said.

H.R. 200, introduced by Chairman Emeritus Don Young (R-AK), reauthorizes the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Since the last reauthorization, fishermen’s access has been eroded by federal agencies that ignore public input and rely upon outdated science in management decisions. Existing implementation of the law has resulted in negative impacts to local economies and a greater regulatory burden on recreational and commercial fishermen.

“My bill works to strengthen the Magnuson-Stevens Act by giving our nation’s regional fisheries councils the added flexibility they need,” Young said. “As a father of the original 1976 legislation, my goal is to reauthorize the MSA with a focus on maintaining the species; ensuring they’re healthy, can retain themselves and can continue to support coastal communities that rely on these fisheries.”

The Committee also discussed two bills from Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), H.R. 2023, the “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017,” and H.R. 3588, the “RED SNAPPER Act,” which looked more closely at systemic issues facing recreational fishers and more specifically red snapper management.

“It is my hope that we can use these bills in front of us today to produce a strong, bipartisan Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization that supports jobs and our fishermen by strengthening the science, data, and process used in federal fisheries management,” Lamborn added.

Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), conveyed the administration’s support for the added flexibility for innovative, regional management plans.

“NOAA Fisheries stands ready to work with the Congress to craft a reauthorization bill that addresses current fishery management challenges and ensures the Nation’s fisheries are able to meet the needs of both current and future generations,” Oliver stated.

Click here for full witness testimony.

NCFC Members to Testify at House Hearing on Fishery Bills

September 25, 2017 — Tomorrow at 10:00 AM, two members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities will testify before a House Natural Resources subcommittee on four bills affecting fisheries and fisheries management. Jon Mitchell, the Mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts and head of the NCFC member New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, and Mike Merrifield, of the Southeastern Fisheries Association, will join other witnesses at tomorrow’s hearing.

The following information on the hearing was released by the House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans:

On Tuesday, September 26, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1334 Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

H.R. 200 (Rep. Don Young), To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide flexibility for fishery managers and stability for fishermen, and for other purposes.
H.R. 2023 (Rep. Garret Graves), To modernize recreational fisheries management “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017.”
H.R. 3588 (Rep. Garret Graves), To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide for management of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, and for other purposes. “RED SNAPPER Act.”
Discussion Draft of H.R. ____ (Rep. Jared Huffman), To amend and reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and for other purposes.

Witnesses:

The Honorable Jonathan Mitchell
Mayor
City of New Bedford
New Bedford, Massachusetts

Mr. Chris Macaluso
Director, Center for Marine Fisheries
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Washington, DC

Ms. Susan Boggs
Co-Owner
Reel Surprise Charter Fishing
Orange Beach, Alabama

The Honorable Wilbur Ross (Invited)
Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC

Mr. Ben Martens
Executive Director
Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association
Brunswick, Maine

Mr. Mike Merrifield
Southeastern Fisheries Association
Tallahassee, Florida

Mr. Chris Blankenship
Commissioner
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Montgomery, Alabama

More information on the hearing, including a link to a live stream of the proceedings, can be found at the House Natural Resources Committee website.

Subcommittee to Review Bills to Modernize Federal Fisheries Management

September 19, 2017 — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 10:00 AM in 1334 Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

H.R. 200 (Rep. Don Young), To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide flexibility for fishery managers and stability for fishermen, and for other purposes.

H.R. 2023 (Rep. Garret Graves), To modernize recreational fisheries management “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017”

H.R. 3588 (Rep. Garret Graves), To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide for management of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, and for other purposes. “RED SNAPPER Act”

Discussion Draft of H.R. ____ (Rep. Jared Huffman), To amend and reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and for other purposes.

WHAT:	Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans Legislative Hearing on 4 Bills
WHEN:	Tuesday, September 26 10:00 AM
WHERE:	1334 Longworth House Office Building

Visit the Committee Calendar for additional information once it is made available. The meeting is open to the public and a video feed will stream live at House Committee on Natural Resources.

Panel Reviews Legislation to Increase Access to Outdoor Sporting Opportunities on Federal Lands

September 12, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

Today, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a legislative hearing on H.R. 3668, the “Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act of 2017” or “SHARE Act.” The bill increases opportunities for hunters, anglers and shooters, eliminates red tape impeding outdoor sporting activities, and protects Second Amendment Rights.

“Outdoor sporting activities, including hunting, fishing and recreational shooting, aredeeply engrained in the fabric of America’s culture and heritage. Values of personal responsibility, resource management and conservation and outdoor recreation instilled by these activities are passed down from generation to generation and play a significant role in the lives of millions of Americans,” Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA) said.

Outdoor sporting activities are a major economic driver in the United States. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, sportsmen and women annually generate 7.6 million American jobs, $65.3 billion in federal tax revenues and a combined $59.2 billion in state and local taxes.

Despite the significant economic benefits of outdoor sporting activities, unnecessary bureaucratic roadblocks inhibit access to these activities on federal lands.

“Among the most commonly cited reasons by Americans who have given up on these recreational pursuits on public lands are access issues,” McClintock argued.

The “SHARE Act” includes multiple provisions that improve access and opportunities for outdoor recreation and sporting activities on federal lands, including requiring the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to be “open until closed” for recreational hunting, fishing and shooting.

“As a nation, we must encourage all Americans, and in particular young people and urban residents, to increase their participation in wildlife-oriented recreation, including hunting, shooting and fishing,” Anna Seidman, Director of Government Affairs for the Safari Club International, said. “[The ‘SHARE Act’] removes statutory and regulatory obstacles that inhibit federal agencies from providing access and opportunities [for sportsmen and women].”

The “SHARE Act” also increases safety and hearing protection for sportsmen and women by removing onerous requirements associated with purchasing hearing protection equipment.

“No reason exists why one should be forced to damage one’s hearing to hunt, target shoot, or exercise one’s second Amendment rights,” Stephen Halbrook, an attorney who specializes in Second Amendment issues, stated.

The bill prevents firearm mufflers from being regulated under the 1934 National Firearms Act, which requires a $200 transfer tax fee. It also ends the requirement that law-abiding gun owners go through a secondary, outmoded federal background check and continues to treat mufflers as firearms subject to extensive regulations under the Gun Control Act.

“[The ‘SHARE Act’] would protect law enforcement interests while at the same time allowing law-abiding gun owners to protect their health better and to reduce noise pollution,” Halbrook added.

Christopher Sharon, CEO of Hope for the Warriors, added that firearm mufflers are vital for veterans’ enjoyment of the outdoors, pointing to the prevalence of hearing loss for those who have trained and served in our military.

“Preserving what remains of our heroes’ hearing, while still giving them the opportunities to live a full life is our goal,” Sharon stated.

Click here to view full witness testimony.

Click here for more information on the “SHARE Act.”

The ESA Litigation Cartel

Americans Become Less Litigious as Frivolous ESA Litigation Quintuples

August 29, 2017 — The following was released by The Scope, a newsletter by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

According to recent polling from Public Opinion Strategies, 87% of voters agree that there are too many lawsuits filed in America. In fact, “Americans, reputed to be the most litigious people in the world, are filing far fewer lawsuits.” However, despite these developments, suits from fringe elements of the national environmental lobby are growing more rampant.

Here’s the good news: in 1993, 10 out of every 1,000 Americans filed a tort lawsuit. In 2015, that number declined to 2 out of 1,000 Americans filing suit. By contrast, environmental litigation, especially cases filed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), has experienced a sustained spike.

ESA has been abused by a small group of deep-pocketed special interest litigants to enforce their own policy preferences and to line the pockets of their attorneys and organizations. The ESA imposes no cap on attorneys’ fee awards that these special interest plaintiffs can recover from the federal government. The absence of such a cap was originally designed to ease the financial burden on citizens protecting themselves against federal actions. But when wealthy ideological groups repeatedly abuse the law in order to enrich themselves with taxpayers’ money, where do we draw the line?

As the Committee continues its work to improve and modernize the ESA, it’s a question worth asking.

Curtailing Species Recovery

ESA Litigation Cartel Fact #1: Two litigious environmental groups alone – WildEarth Guardians and Center for Biological Diversity – have filed over 1,500 lawsuits since 1990. That’s one new paralyzing lawsuit filed roughly every week over the past three decades from just two so-called “environmental” organizations.

Outcome: Valuable taxpayer resources are drained from actual species recovery – the very purpose of the ESA in the first place – to line the pockets of a few large-scale litigants.

Drowning Resources from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

ESA Litigation Cartel Fact #2: ESA-related sue-and-settle agreements quintupled during the Obama administration compared to previous administrations. In 2011, as part of a “mega-settlement” with the same two environmental groups, the FWS agreed to review over 250 species as well as actions impacting 1,053 species without public review or state input.

Outcome: Consequently, FWS devoted nearly all of its species petition and listing budget to comply with lawsuits, siphoning valuable taxpayer resources away from actual species recovery.

Costing the Taxpayer Millions

ESA Litigation Cartel Fact #3: Federal agencies have paid out $30 million for ESA-related litigation since 2009, and the Department of the Interior alone has shelled out $14 million on ESA-related attorney’s fees in the same time frame.

Outcome: Between 2009 and 2012, “sue and settle” agreements between environmental groups and the federal government resulted in over 100 new regulations with more than $100 million in annual compliance costs and – once again – more resources shifting away from actual species recovery.

Monuments Review Spurs Call to Overhaul Antiquities Act

Interior Department does not recommend overturning any designations

August 28, 2017 — The Interior Department’s conclusion of a contentious review of national monuments might give Congress some impetus to revisit the Antiquities Act of 1906, which presidents of both parties have used to designate monuments through executive action.

House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop on Thursday called for Congress to overhaul the Antiquities Act to place “reasonable limits” on the way presidents use the statute. Bishop’s statements came shortly before the Interior Department submitted recommendations to the White House after an executive-ordered review of monument designations made over the last two decades.

Bishop, a Utah Republican and forceful critic of federal control of public lands in the West, said in a call with reporters that the Obama administration had abused the statute that allows presidents to designate national monuments without congressional action. The Interior review, he said, was necessary because some of the designations were a result of abuse of the statute and did not allow for adequate input by local communities.

“If we don’t reform the Antiquities Act, we will have a replication of failures,” Bishop said. “If the procedure is flawed, the product is going to be flawed.”

Former President Barack Obama’s most contentious designation, the creation of the 1.3 million-acre Bears Ears monument, drew much opposition from Bishop and other Utah lawmakers, who lobbied the Trump administration for its reversal. Another of the more contentious ones is Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, which marked its first anniversary Thursday.

Read the full story at Roll Call

Chairman Bishop Statement on Secretary Zinke’s National Monument Review

August 24, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

Today, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement in reaction to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s final review of national monument designations under the Antiquities Act (Act):

“I am encouraged by the recommendations to revise previous designations that were inconsistent with the law and outside the Act’s size limitations. It is my hope that President Trump takes this opportunity to begin realigning uses of the law with its intended purpose. It’s also incumbent on Congress to pursue reforms to the Act that ensure it is being used to protect antiquities while providing meaningful local input in the designation process and reasonable continued public access to these iconic areas. Ultimately, only Congress can restore integrity to this law and prevent future abuses.”

Additionally, Chairman Bishop hosted a press call this morning to discuss the Trump Administration’s review of national monuments and reforms to the Antiquities Act:

Listen to Chairman Bishop’s statement here

Listen to a Q&A with Chairman Bishop here

Committee Calls for Improved Science, Local Flexibility and Regulatory Certainty in Magnuson-Stevens

July 19, 2017 — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans held a hearing examining the successes and needed updates to the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). Passed in 1976, MSA is the primary law governing fisheries in federal waters.

The law requires federal fishery managers to impose an annual catch limit on both commercial and recreational fisheries. Critics of this system argue that it represents deficient science, disproportionately hurts the recreational industry and is unnecessarily inflexible.

“Management of the recreational sector under strict annual catch limits generates devastating socioeconomic effects and is highly unreasonable due to the insufficiency of the recreational data collection system.” Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Service Nick Wiley stated. “[It] is truly a square peg in a round hole causing high levels of frustration.”

“Sometimes the ‘best science available’ is no science at all, and that’s what hurts us,” Congressman Don Yong (R-AK) said.

“Many of the issues faced by our commercial and recreational anglers could be alleviated if sound science was actually being applied,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) added. “I have faith that the new administration will do just that.”

MSA also requires that overfished species be rebuilt within ten years. The industry has generally condemned this provision as arbitrary and harmful to both fisheries and the many communities that rely on them.

“The result has been that a founding principle of the Act has been eroded to the extent where we have lost our collective ability to ‘achieve optimum yield on a continuing basis’ in our region,” Lund’s Fisheries, Inc. Jeff Kaelin stated.

Uncertainty has plagued many fisheries due to duplicative and ill-suited regulations from a host of environmental statutes and, more recently, capricious and disruptive marine monument designations acted upon through executive fiat.

“In our view marine monument designations were politically motivated and addressed non-existing problems,” President of the Hawaii Longline Association Sean Martin said. “Fisheries operating in these areas were sustainably managed for several decades under the MSA and the Western Pacific Council. There was no serious attempt to work with the fishing industry in the designations of these monuments.”

“I may not live in a coastal community, however – like many of my colleagues – I have constituents that want fresh, sustainable, U.S. caught seafood on their dinner plates,” Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said. “[W]e can maintain sustainability while also increasing access to our waters for all. We can strike a balance and it is incumbent on us to do so.”

Click here to view full witness testimony.

Read the full release here

Panel Outlines Devastating Social and Economic Consequences of Antiquities Designations

May 2, 2017 — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

Today, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands heard testimony on the consequences of Executive Branch overreach of the Antiquities Act. The panel discussed national monuments designated without significant local input or support or that included excessively large or restricted areas of land.

Director of the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office and former head of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Kathleen Clarke discussed the devastating economic consequences for Utah communities after President Clinton designated 1.7 million acres in Utah as the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in 1996.

“Families that have lived for generations in affected communities find their families torn apart due to lack of employment opportunities for the next generation. Populations are declining. In the twenty years since the creation of the Grand Staircase, school enrollment in Escalante has gone from 150 to 57 students,” Clarke said.

The monument included roughly 176,000 acres of Utah School and Institutional Trust Land Administration (SITLA) lands, which generate revenues for the state’s K-12 public education system. According to the Utah Geological Survey, the value of resources on school trust lands dropped by $8 billion immediately after the monument designation.

President Obama’s December 2016 Bears Ears National Monument designation similarly locked up 109,000 acres of SITLA land in southern Utah. “What impact will this have for SITLA as they try to grow their fund to benefit more schoolchildren in the state,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) asked Clarke.

This will “diminish opportunity,” Clarke responded, adding that it threatens Utah’s entire K-12 public education system.

Knox Marshall, Vice President of the Resources Division at Murphy Company, testified that President Obama’s January 2017 expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southwestern Oregon and California has “devastated the social fabric of our rural communities and crippled county finances.”

“Douglas County in Oregon, for example, has recently closed its entire public library system because timber sale revenues that previously funded those libraries and a robust set of other public services have largely disappeared,” Marshall added.

Maine Governor Paul LePage outlined current and anticipated adverse impacts resulting from the August 2016 Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument designation by President Obama, including economic losses to the forestry industry and public access barriers such as the loss of connectivity for ATV trails in the region.

“Not long after President Obama designated the Monument, Maine residents started to feel the negative effects of having the federal government as their new master,” LePage stated.

“These designations were often imposed in spite of local opposition, without consultation with Congress, or the state or local government’s effected, and without regard for the economic damage these designations have had on surrounding communities,” Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA) said.

After reading letters and resolutions from local tribes in Utah opposing the Bears Ears designation Chairman Bishop stated, “I hope that those listening today will remember these voices, the ones that have been excluded from this conversation and the ones that President Obama ignored when he designated Bears Ears National Monument.”

Click here to view full witness testimony.