Obama Admin Opposes 'Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage And Opportunities Act'

The Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act is Title VIII of the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act of 2013, and the Obama administration “strongly opposes” it.

The act is sponsored by Representative Bob Latta (R-Ohio) under the auspices of H.R. 3590. Its purpose is “to promote enjoyment of shooting, recreational, and hunting activities,” which it does by “[providing] increased Federal support to facilitate the expansion of public target ranges” and opening more federally managed land to hunting.

On February 3rd, Obama’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a “statement of administration policy” through which the administration announced it “strongly opposes” Title VIII of the SHARE Act. 

The administration claims Title VIII would “exclude management decisions from the National Environmental Policy Act” and “undermine the Wilderness Act of 1964.” The administration also believes goals of the SHARE Act would “supersede longstanding statutory planning discretion.”

But OMB’s policy statement said the administration still “supports the goal of promoting recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting opportunities.” 

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