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SCI Press Release

SCI Files Comments to Protect Hunting on 193 Million Acres

Proposed Forest Service Planning Rule Fails to Adequately Address Hunting

Washington, DC Safari Club International (SCI) filed comments in response to the recently released National Forest System Land Management Planning Proposed Rules (Draft Rules) which serve as the basis for long term planning on all Forest Service lands. The comments convey the important role that hunting and the hunting industry plays in habitat and wildlife management on the 193 million acres of public land administered by the United States Forest Service (Forest Service).

on the need for the express recognition of hunting as a priority use of Forest Service lands and the need for reduced ambiguity in the Draft Rules so that courts are not allowed to step in and replace agency experts as the decision-makers in the planning o

said SCI President Kevin Anderson.

Conservation Council, we thought it was serious about protecting our hunting heritage. Their proposed planning rule should reflect the cultural, recreational and economic importance that hunting plays on our

comments:

Hunting plays an unquestionably significant role in recreation, wildlife management and conservation throughout our National Forests. In addition, the hunting industry, and in particular hunting guides and outfitters, depend heavily on the revenues generated from the business of guiding hunters on National Forest Lands. The income from hunting supports local economies and fuels wildlife and habitat conservation. Despite these facts, the Draft Planning Rule makes negligible mention of hunting and offers little in the way of express protections for hunting, potentially inviting the courts to resolve

appears only once in the Draft Planning Rule, in the context of habitat management.

concluded Anderson.

http://www.scifirstforhunters.org/docs/article/3307/Forest_Planning_- _SCI_Comments_on_National_Forest_Service_Planning_Rules%20Final.pdf

Contact: Nelson Freeman, Media@safariclub.org

For Immediate Release: May 24, 2011

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