On March 5, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had decided that the greater sage-grouse was warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but that the listing is precluded at this time due to higher priority listing actions, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. The decision establishes sage-grouse as a candidate species and allows states to continue to manage the species, including managed hunting where appropriate.

U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (NM) and Max Baucus (MT) introduced legislation in November that would permanently provide $900 million annually to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the federal government’s main program to protect land and provide outdoor recreation opportunities.

President Obama signed the $32.2 billion Interior, Environment and Related Agencies fiscal year 2010 (FY10) appropriations bill into law on October 30.   The bill provides a 17 percent increase in spending from last year’s appropriation for most of the natural resources and environmental agencies in the federal government, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. 

On Friday May 22nd, President Obama signed the Credit Card Holder Bill of Rights.  This bill contained a provision allowing individuals to lawfully carry their concealed firearms on National Parks and Refuges if the state in which the park or refuge is located allows for concealed carry.

Complex legislative games in Washington, DC led to the passage of a bill that clarifies that gun owners won’t risk accidentally breaking federal law by simply having their firearms loaded when they are in national parks.

Groups Push Interior Secretary to Follow Through on National Park Service Decision.  The attacks on traditional, lead ammunition continue to rapidly descend on sportsmen. 

Not surprisingly, last week the Interior Department said that it would not appeal a recent court ruling preventing law-abiding citizens from defending themselves in national parks and wildlife refuges.  Instead, their plan is to move forward with an environmental impact statement to determine the effects of firearms in parks. 

On Thursday, April 2, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Bob Bennett (R-Utah), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) introduced legislation (S.816) to restore the Second Amendment rights of visitors in national parks and wildlife refuges (its companion bill, H.R. 1684 was introduced last week by Congressman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). 

On Thursday, March 19, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. granted anti-gun plaintiffs a preliminary injunction against implementation of the new rule allowing law-abiding citizens to defend themselves by carrying a concealed firearm in national parks and wildlife refuges.