Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the numerous hunters in my district who have called me, very frustrated, every hunting season that the National Forest Service, with no cause, no rationale, and no reason, closes down their access to hunt in the Mark Twain National Forest. With gates, locks and chains, they limit the residents of central and southeast Missouri.

I have been contacted by numerous folks in my district about not having proper postings of corridors within the National Park System whenever they decide to change its random gates. What this amendment would do is it would require the National Forest Service to publish signs of any hunting corridors that they decide to close.

I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman).

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, the great outdoors and hunting traditions of the United States are a way of life for folks all over our great country.

Throughout our history, they have been championed by Presidents George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, and Teddy Roosevelt, who established national forests, game preserves, and national parks. The SHARE Act continues these great traditions.

My amendment, which adds Mark Twain National Forest to the list of forests provided in the section, assures the residents of Missouri that no executive order, no executive action, or no bureaucrat sitting in Washington, D.C., who has never set foot on Mark Twain National Forest will write a rule inhibiting the ability to hunt or fish in our national forests.

This amendment secures our freedom to be avid sportsmen. Folks in Missouri don't want an overzealous administration to be able to come in and dictate to the hunters and anglers of Missouri by executive fiat.

Over 1.3 million Missourians hunt or fish, and many go to the Mark Twain National Forest each year. It covers roughly 2,331 square miles, 1.5 million acres, most of which reside in Missouri's Eighth Congressional District.

I ask the body to support the amendment.

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman).

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman).

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is just a commonsense amendment that adds the Mark Twain National Forest to the several other forests that are mentioned in the four other States.

I ask the body to support the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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