National Park units open to hunting?

[fireweed]

( To keep an eye on the anti-hunting crowd I subscribe to the National Parks Conservation Assoc. Email list and just got the following message urging me to contact my senators--I'll contact them all right, but won't be using the "suggested format)

We urgently need your help! The Senate may soon take up a proposal that could open many units of the National Park System to hunting. We can't let this happen.
 
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4089, the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act, last week, and rejected a reasonable, clarifying amendment that would have helped maintain the status quo at national park units that do not allow hunting, like Antietam and Manassas National Battlefields, Flight 93 National Memorial, and Morristown and Lewis and Clark National Historical Parks.
 
Take Action: Please write your senators immediately and ask them to leave our national park system alone if they bring up H.R. 4089 or similar legislation.
 
The bill included language that purports to exclude national parks and national monuments like Yellowstone and the Great Smoky Mountains from hunting and recreational shooting, but it does NOT provide a guarantee. In addition, it ignores the many designations of “national park unit” that also do not allow hunting, such as national historical park, national military park, national memorial, etc. Now that the bill has moved over to the Senate, its advocates are working aggressively to get it to the Senate floor. It is essential that the bill include a genuine exclusion for the National Park System that does not change current law.

Please ask your senators today to clearly exclude units of the National Park System from HR 4089 or similar Senate legislation, S. 2066.

Thank you for taking action to help protect our national parks.  National Park Conservation Association

[SkookumHntr]

 - I wonder how that guy that got killed by that mt goat in the olympic NP would have voted on this..

[Elkaholic daWg]

 We KNOW how our senators will vote, and they will ignore every call and letter from the hunting public.

[bigtex]

Federal land management agency rules are very odd. You have some that are passed by congress and others (almost all) that are essentially set by the agency themselves, or a particular branch of that agency. There are currently about 70 NPS units open to hunting, including three in Washington. Right now much of the "No Hunting" regs for national parks are set by Congress. However even if congress removed those regulations a individual park could make hunting illegal.

For example, if congress passed a law saying hunting at Mt Rainier was legal. Mt Rainier National Park could create a law saying no hunting within the park. The Code of Federal Regulations which are the laws set by agencies give a TON of authority to the local managers of parks/refuges/forests. In fact the current CFR (which cannot be changed by Congress) essentially states NPS Park superintendents have the authority to regulate hunting, fishing, trapping within their park

[Special T]

So really this could just be a false gesture to apease hunters.  Maybe it would take place in NP's in more rural areas that do ot have such an Anti gun influence.

[JimmyHoffa]

We KNOW how our senators will vote, and they will ignore every call and letter from the hunting public.

On this bill, probably.  But they really are vote hounds and will say/do what keeps them in (most) favorable light.  Case in point is the Wild Olympics campaign.  The greenies had their proposals that would have taken quite a bit of the land on the OP and transferred to the national park as 'park' status.  There was enough challenge that when Murray and Dicks came out with their version the land to be taken was about half the acreage and would be added to the national park as 'preserve' so as to allow hunting-but under Olympic NP supervision.  Not sure how well that would work for hunters, but it was unexpected due to all the other things the greenies railroad through.

[bigtex]

We KNOW how our senators will vote, and they will ignore every call and letter from the hunting public.

On this bill, probably.  But they really are vote hounds and will say/do what keeps them in (most) favorable light.  Case in point is the Wild Olympics campaign.  The greenies had their proposals that would have taken quite a bit of the land on the OP and transferred to the national park as 'park' status.  There was enough challenge that when Murray and Dicks came out with their version the land to be taken was about half the acreage and would be added to the national park as 'preserve' so as to allow hunting-but under Olympic NP supervision.  Not sure how well that would work for hunters, but it was unexpected due to all the other things the greenies railroad through.

I was surprised and happy to see the proposed additions as a "preserve". Something that people don't understand is that both Olympic and Mt Rainier National Parks are operated under exclusive jurisdiction, essentially meaning state, county and other local governments have no authority. So any type of hunting in the "preserve" would be planned, managed and enforced by the National Park Service. Those of who you fish the rivers in the park know that in order to fish for salmon/steelhead you need a separate CRC then other rivers outside the park, the enforcement personnel are not WDFW but NPS and so on. Same goes with clamming at Kalaloach, I know WDFW biologists assist NPS bios with their population surveys but the actual season decisions and enforcement is done by NPS.

As the state law is currently written any additions to either Rainier and Olympic will also be held in exclusive jurisdiction. So as these parks grow (Rainier added a few hundred acres two years ago) the jurisdiction of state and county authorities in those areas actually diminsh.

From a law enforcement standpoint the only authority state/county/local officers have is to serve warrants and civil papers. In these areas it is 100% federal law enforcement and federal courts.

Out of the roughly 400 National Park Service units only about 30 are held in exclusive jurisdiction, and they tend to be the bigger, more iconic parks

[Elkaholic daWg]

    Greenie/Anti's  spreading lies as a smokescreen to derail the senate version, and ask for  money.

[fireweed]

Sent me a new PANIC "THE HUNTERS ARE COMING" letter today (see below)  Notice they want Money to fight this "horrible idea"
 
I need your help because, like one supporter who posted on our Facebook wall last week, I am also "astounded and dismayed."
 
If you haven't heard, last week the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4089, the Sportsmen's Heritage Act ... a bill which could allow hunting and recreational shooting in the vast majority of units of the National Park System that are currently closed to hunting.
 
Amazingly, an amendment that would have clearly exempted national park units from the bill was rejected by 260 representatives, a disturbing number.
 
Is there a need to hunt ravens at the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, aid the restoration of the National Mall by eliminating excess pigeons, or conduct target practice at Gettysburg National Cemetery or the Flight 93 Memorial?
 
In the absence of an exemption for our national park units from this bill, we are left to imagine such absurd scenarios as well as others that seem far more likely.
 
To make matters worse, this bill has moved quickly to the Senate, where it may be taken up on very short notice.
 
So I am turning to you for help. If you can at this time, please make a special, tax-deductible donation today to help us fight for a clear, proper exemption for national park units from H.R. 4089.
 
Millions of families visit and experience the rich beauty, majesty, and heritage of our National Park System each year. Quite frankly, it is absurd to open up these great places ... where we take our families to learn, enjoy, reflect, and honor the sacrifices of our ancestors ... to hunting and recreational shooting.
 
This bill, if passed as is, could entirely change the National Park System's historic legacy of having these park lands be a sanctuary for wildlife, where game hunting and target practice are forbidden.
 
As the foremost citizen advocate for our parks, it's NPCA's responsibility to protect our national parks. Our track record shows that, with supporters like you behind us, we can demonstrate to Congress that Americans want our national parks protected and kept as they were intended.
 
NPCA will be working relentlessly to make sure that every Senator knows that you -- and more than 600,000 other NPCA members and supporters -- want them to honor the legacy of the National Park System by agreeing to support a clear exemption for national park units from this bill.
 
With time against us, we need all the help and resources we can muster to orchestrate a full effort to make sure Congress does the right thing before it's too late.
 
Can you do your part with a special tax-deductible donation today?
 
With your support, I know we will do everything possible to ensure that these great places are protected for our children and grandchildren, and they will remain as they were intended.
 
Thank you for everything you do to protect our parks.
 
Sincerely, National Parks Conservation Association

[Elkaholic daWg]

 Damn!!!! Some thing I can agree with them on, for ONE because  the government (At all levels) should not be above ANY law that the public is not. Although it seems to look like this concerns a NP on our southern border. And I already KNOW how Larsen will vote


 Their alert today

NPCA - Park Action

Saguaro National Park

Tell Rep. Rick Larsen to vote NO on H.R. 2578!

Take Action

Dear Jim,

We need your help again! Misguided legislation continues to threaten our beloved national parks.

The House of Representatives will vote as early as TOMORROW, June 19th, on a public lands bill that chips away at basic protections for our National Park System. Tell Rep. Rick Larsen to protect our national parks and vote NO on H.R. 2578!

The most far-reaching and extreme provision creates a zone within 100 miles of our country's international land border with Mexico and Canada. In this zone, most basic protections for national parks, historic sites, and other protected areas may cease to exist at the whim of the Department of Homeland Security.

This bill undermines basic national park protections based on the false premise that it is somehow impossible to secure our borders and protect our national heritage at the same time.

Take Action TODAY: Tell Rep. Rick Larsenthat you believe we can protect our national security while still protecting our national heritage and natural resources.

No government agency should be above the law, yet this bill would allow the Department of Homeland Security unfettered authority to ignore laws that protect our fish and wildlife, national parks, forests, and historic sites.

Ironically, the federal agency that would receive this unfettered authority said it does not want it, doesn't need it, and shouldn't have it. According to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, this legislation "is unnecessary, and it’s bad policy.”

The bill also includes two other provisions we strongly oppose, including authorization for reconstructing an expensive, little-used route in North Cascades National Park and policy that undermines the National Park Service’s carefully drafted plan that protects families, nesting shorebirds, and turtles--while still allowing vehicles--on many beaches at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.