December 10, 2010

Forest Service to Consider Banning Gun Hunting
in Parts of Huron-Manistee National Forest

(Columbus, OH) - As a result of a recent anti-hunting court ruling, the U.S. Forest Service is starting a formal review of its Management Plan for the Huron-Manistee National Forest to consider banning hunting with firearms in some areas.

In September, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Forest Service’s regulations required that it consider banning hunting with guns on lands designated as “semi-primitive.” The Court found that the noise associated with gun hunting could harm the quality of the recreational experience of hikers, backpackers, and cross county skiers.
Just as troublesome, the Court ruled that the Forest Service was required to consider closing these areas to gun hunting in places where there is other public, non-Forest land nearby that is open to gun hunting. This could require the Forest Service to close lands currently open for gun hunting when other state or federal hunting lands are opened.

The court ruling has prompted the Forest Service to start a formal review of the Huron-Manistee Management Plan. Primarily, the review will focus on whether or not hunting with guns should be banned on the “semi-primitive” areas.
Sportsmen will be given opportunities to submit comments to the Forest Service throughout the review process.

“This court ruling is a major threat to hunting on these lands and across the country,” said Rob Sexton, USSA vice president for government affairs. “Anti-hunters will likely use this ruling to try and force the Forest Service to ban gun hunting on other Forest lands.”
On October 26th, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and a coalition of nineteen other leading conservation groups sent a letter to the Forest Service requesting that it rewrite the regulations the Court used to render the anti-hunting decision.

I live in Georgia so most of the hunting I do is in Georgia on or in NF Land. Hunters as a whole need to pay close attention to this and start writing their respective congresman, Remember most of the land we all hunt is NF land and could be subject to the same conditions as you mentioned. I have noticed over the years the USFS has taken a negative approach to hunting and as you all well know the top positions for these Goverment agencys
are APPOINTED this is very dangerous in our present ADMIN. Already the Department of The Interior is thinking the same for alot of BLM land and you know what this means. Please write your congressman for your children and mine. Thanks for the heads up.