Bill > A131

Introduced Session

This bill would protect fishing, hunting, and trapping opportunities by providing for no net loss of certain State lands made available for the purposes of public recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping. This bill requires the Commissioner of Environmental Protection to recognize fishing, hunting, and trapping as primary uses of the lands and to exercise management authority in order to promote and enhance public recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping opportunities. The commissioner would not be required to give preference to fishing, hunting, or trapping over other primary uses of State park and forest land or other priorities established by law. The commissioner would be required to make land management decisions that do not result in any net loss of acreage available for public recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping opportunities and would provide for the expeditious replacement of acreage to compensate for any closures of existing land for such uses. By providing for no net loss of acreage, the department would be prohibited from reducing the amount of acreage of land, administered by the department, available for public recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping opportunities in the State, on or after the date of enactment of this bill into law. Acreage dedicated to State wildlife management areas, wildlife refuges, public hunting grounds, and recreational areas, managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, would not be reduced except due to environmental or biological reasons for the protection of wildlife or fisheries or their associated habitat, or as a result of a land exchange wherein the department receives property of equal or greater value. State parks and forests would be accessible for the purposes of recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping unless restricted for reasons of public safety or homeland security, as limited by the commissioner in consultation with the State Police. The commissioner would further be required to submit an annual report to the Legislature and the Senate Environment Committee and the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee including information regarding: the acreage managed or owned by the department that had been available for public recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping during the previous year, and the reasons for such closures; the amount of acreage opened to public recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping to compensate for the acreage closed; and the reasons why any newly acquired State public park and forest land, wildlife management areas, wildlife refuges, public hunting grounds, and recreational areas were not open to public recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping. A number of states are considering legislation similar to this bill and a growing number of states have passed laws protecting public recreational fishing, hunting, and trapping land by preventing the net loss of acreage for such uses. Similar legislation has also been introduced in Congress to prevent the net loss of Federal public land for the purposes of fishing, hunting, and trapping.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Parker Space (R)*,  Harold Wirths (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture Committee (on 01/14/2020)