Zinke’s Off to Good Start with Sound Conservation Plans

Posted by Tina

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, who was confirmed last Wednesday (68-31), got off to a great start his first week in office by signing two orders that reverse Obama’s “parting shot” to America’s hunters and fishermen:

Secretarial Order. No. 3346 repealed the Obama administration’s parting shot to hunters, which had been a plan to phase out, by the year 2022, the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on lands, waters, and facilities administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

In addition to hunters and fishermen, the Obama-era order had angered the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), the umbrella group for state agencies that manage these resources.

AWFA reacted with “utter dismay” to the Obama lead ban, noting, “It does a disservice to hunters and anglers, the firearms and angling industries, and the many professionals on staff with the USFWS who desire a trusting and transparent relationship with their state partners.” The group characterized the Obama administration’s action as “unacceptable federal overreach” and criticized its severe and disproportionately rural economic impact.

Secretary Zinke’s statement on the repeal explained, “After reviewing the order and the process by which it was promulgated, I have determined that the Order is not mandated by any existing statutory or regulatory requirement and was issued without significant communication, consultation, or coordination with affected stakeholders.”

Secretary Zinke’s second order, No. 3347, seeks to “enhance conservation stewardship, increase outdoor recreation, and improve the management of game species and their habitat.” It recognizes recreational hunters and anglers as leaders in America’s conversation movement and invokes Theodore Roosevelt, who “loved the outdoors and vigorously hunted wildlife”.

Specifically, the order requires a report of all steps taken to implement a directive issued by President George W. Bush, “Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation,” as well as a description of any barriers or impediments to its full implementation. These reports will then be submitted to the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council and the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council to solicit each group’s own consensus recommendations for implementation of the Bush directive.

Using these reports and recommendations, the Department will then develop a further plan of action both to expand recreational hunting and fishing opportunities, as well as coordination, cooperation, and communication with state fish and wildlife agencies. Secretary Zinke will also appoint an official within the Immediate Office of the Secretary to coordinate and implement these efforts.

Zinke is an ex Navy Seal who grew up in Montana where he learned to love the great outdoors:

“It was on these lands that my father [taught me] to hunt and fish and the Boy Scouts taught me the principles [of] environmental stewardship and the importance of public access.”

Zinke’s focus on conservation and access is a welcome change.