Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025

Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025

This bill bars the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Forest Service from prohibiting or regulating the use of lead ammunition or tackle on federal land or water. The bill makes exceptions for specified existing regulations and where the FWS, the BLM, or the Forest Service determines that a decline in wildlife population at the specific unit of federal land or water is primarily caused by the use of lead in ammunition or tackle, based on the field data from such unit, and the state approves the regulations.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 537 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 537

    To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
 Agriculture from prohibiting the use of lead ammunition or tackle on 
 certain Federal land or water under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 
    of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2025

  Mr. Daines (for himself, Mr. Moran, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. 
 Tillis, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Risch, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Scott of 
   Florida, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Lee, Mr. Boozman, Mr. 
  Marshall, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Wicker, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Sheehy, Mr. 
 Rounds, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Justice, Mr. Hagerty, 
  Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Thune, Mrs. Capito, and Mr. Budd) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
 Agriculture from prohibiting the use of lead ammunition or tackle on 
 certain Federal land or water under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 
    of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Access for Hunters and 
Anglers Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTING ACCESS FOR HUNTERS AND ANGLERS ON FEDERAL LAND AND 
              WATER.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in section 20.21 or 20.108 of 
title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act), and subsection (b), the Secretary of the 
Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service or the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and 
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 
Service (referred to in this section as the ``applicable Secretary''), 
may not--
            (1) prohibit the use of lead ammunition or tackle on 
        Federal land or water that is--
                    (A) under the jurisdiction of the applicable 
                Secretary; and
                    (B) made available for hunting or fishing 
                activities; or
            (2) issue regulations relating to the level of lead in 
        ammunition or tackle to be used on Federal land or water 
        described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a prohibition or 
regulations described in that subsection that are limited to a specific 
unit of Federal land or water, if the applicable Secretary determines 
that--
            (1) a decline in wildlife population at the specific unit 
        of Federal land or water is primarily caused by the use of lead 
        in ammunition or tackle, based on the field data from the 
        specific unit of Federal land or water; and
            (2) the prohibition or regulations, as applicable, are--
                    (A) consistent with the law of the State in which 
                the specific Federal land or water is located;
                    (B) consistent with an applicable policy of the 
                fish and wildlife department of the State in which the 
                specific Federal land or water is located; or
                    (C) approved by the applicable fish and wildlife 
                department of the State in which the specific Federal 
                land or water is located.
    (c) Federal Register Notice.--The applicable Secretary shall 
include in a Federal Register notice with respect to any prohibition or 
regulations that meet the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
subsection (b) an explanation of how the prohibition or regulations, as 
applicable, meet those requirements.
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