The Hunting Heritage Protection Act, Illinois SB 2156, passed both state houses last week and is now eligible for Gov. Blagojevich's signature. However, if this bill is signed into law, public land management in Illinois would be severely compromised. The bill calls for "no net loss" of public land available for hunting. If the bill becomes law, any area closed to hunting would have to be compensated for by opening other public lands to hunting. The legislation, developed by the United States Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA), is based on federal legislation of the same title that was introduced three times with little success. The most recent version, S 1204, has remained in committee since June 5, 2003. The Bureau of Land Management, in testimony opposing HR 4790, a previous version introduced on June 29, 2000, cited a number of shortcomings with the language. One shortcoming is the impracticality of administering the "no net loss provision." It would unnecessarily complicate federal land management, and the bill could be construed as placing hunting above all other recreational concerns. Since there is little change made to the state language, the same arguments still apply and can be taken a step further. Even though SB 2156 states that hunting will be given no preference above other recreational uses, it is not difficult to conclude activities such as bird-watching and hiking would be affected. The bill would unnecessarily tie the management and financial hands of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The additional burdens would be costly and could compromise and harm other programs administered by the DNR. Further complicating the management of states lands is that they are held in trust for the public. Public lands are and should be available to all citizens, and no preference should be given to one special interest. This shortsighted, special interest-driven bill should be vetoed by Gov. Blagojevich, in order to protect the public lands of Illinois for all of its citizens.

Ran 5/10/04