United States · Bill · HR
H.R. 4959 (108th)
Hunting Heritage and Fishing Preservation Act of 2004
Introduced
22 July 2004
Last action
2 August 2004 · Referred
Status
Executive Comment Requested from Interior.
Sponsors
Rep. John, Christopher [D-LA-7]
Subjects
Discovery layer
Source updated
18 August 2025
Summary
Hunting Heritage and Fishing Preservation Act of 2004 - Hunting Heritage Protection Act - Requires that Federal public lands be open to access and use for recreational hunting with certain exceptions. Directs the head of each relevant Federal agency to support, promote, and enhance recreational hunting opportunities. Declares that Federal land management decisions and actions should, to the extent practicable, result in no net loss of land area available for hunting opportunities on Federal public lands. Prohibits a withdrawal, change of classification, or change of management status that effectively closes 5,000 or more acres of Federal public land for use for recreational hunting from occurring unless the head of the Federal agency with authority to manage the land has submitted written notice of the action to specified congressional committees. Freedom to Fish Act - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require that any fishery management plan, which is prepared by any Council or by the Secretary of Commerce, not establish geographic areas where recreational fishing is prohibited unless: (1) clear indication exists that recreational fishing in such area is the cause of a specific conservation problem; (2) no alternative conservation measures will adequately provide for conservation and management of the fishery; (3) the management plan provides for specific measurable criteria to assess whether the prohibition provides conservation benefits to the fishery, and requires periodic review to assess the continued need for the prohibition; (4) the best available scientific information supports the need to close the area to recreational fishing; and (5) the prohibition is terminated as soon as the condition that was the basis of the prohibition no longer exists.
This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.
Timeline
22 July 2004
Introduced
Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
Source: IntroReferral
22 July 2004
Introduced
Introduced in House
Source: IntroReferral
22 July 2004
Introduced
Introduced in House
Source: IntroReferral
2 August 2004
Committee
Executive Comment Requested from Interior.
Source: Committee
2 August 2004
Referred
Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
Source: Committee
Votes
No vote records are attached yet.
Versions
- Introduced in House · 22 July 2004 · Official file
Documents
3 official files
Introduced in House (text)
Introduced in House (text)
Introduced in House · EN · 22 July 2004
Introduced in House (PDF)
Introduced in House · EN · 22 July 2004
Introduced in House
summary · EN · 22 July 2004
Sponsors
- Rep. John, Christopher [D-LA-7] · D · Sponsor
- · hsii00 · Standing
Related records
No cross-record relationships stored yet.
Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/house-bill/4959
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/108/hr/4959
- us · 108-hr-4959 · source updated 18 August 2025