2004 Legislation
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HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 19 – Public Access & Habitat Incentive

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 19

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Bill Status



HJM019........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT INCENTIVE PROGRAM - Stating findings of
the Legislature and expressing support and urging Idaho's congressional
delegation to cosponsor and actively support passage of the "Voluntary
Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program of 2003."
                                                                        
02/16    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/17    Rpt prt - to Res/Con

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-seventh Legislature                 Second Regular Session - 2004
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 19
                                                                        
                          BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                   A JOINT MEMORIAL
  2    TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED  STATES  IN  CONGRESS
  3        ASSEMBLED,  AND  TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF
  4        IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
                                                                        
  5        We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of  the
  6    State  of  Idaho  assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-seventh
  7    Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
                                                                        
  8        WHEREAS, according to the United States  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service,  in
  9    2001,  82 million individuals, sixteen years of age and older, participated in
 10    wildlife related recreation, including 13 million who hunted, 34  million  who
 11    fished,  and more than 66 million who engaged in activities such as observing,
 12    feeding, and photographing wildlife in the United States; and
 13        WHEREAS, individuals who participated in wildlife  related  activities  in
 14    2001  spent  an  estimated 108 billion dollars, including more than 35 billion
 15    dollars on fishing, nearly 21 billion dollars on hunting,  and  more  than  28
 16    billion dollars on food, lodging, and transportation; and
 17        WHEREAS,  the growing public demand for outdoor recreational opportunities
 18    is increasingly constrained by the limits on  both  public  and  private  land
 19    resources. Limited public access on private land has often frustrated and dis-
 20    appointed  hunters  and  other  naturalists,  and  undermined the relationship
 21    between landowners and the general public; and
 22        WHEREAS, several states, including Idaho, have established successful  but
 23    modest  walk-in  programs to encourage public access on private farm and ranch
 24    land, yet the demand  for  such  voluntary  access  programs  remains  largely
 25    unfulfilled; and
 26        WHEREAS,  in  recent  years  traditional agricultural markets have offered
 27    limited income opportunities for farm and ranch landowners and operators. Cur-
 28    rent proposals to reform world agricultural trade favor the development of new
 29    methods to support the income of  agricultural  producers  that  have  minimal
 30    impact on agricultural production and prices; and
 31        WHEREAS,  there  is  currently  pending  before the Congress of the United
 32    States, the "Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive  Program  of  2003"
 33    which  would  create a voluntary, incentive-based program for landowners, such
 34    as farmers and ranchers, who agree to make their land accessible  in  exchange
 35    for  a  per acre payment. Each state would design and implement its own access
 36    program, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.
 37        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second  Regular  Ses-
 38    sion  of the Fifty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
 39    the Senate  concurring  therein,  that  we   support   the   passage  of   the
 40    "Voluntary  Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program of 2003," to encourage
 41    owners and operators of privately held farm and ranch land to voluntarily make
 42    their land available for access by the public under programs  administered  by
 43    states.
 44        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge the congressional delegation
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1    representing  the  State  of  Idaho  in  the Congress of the United  States to
  2    cosponsor and actively support passage of the  "Voluntary  Public  Access  and
  3    Habitat Incentive Program of 2003."
  4        BE  IT  FURTHER  RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
  5    tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of  this
  6    Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre-
  7    sentatives  of  Congress,  and  the  congressional delegation representing the
  8    State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
                             RS 14088


     The purpose of this Joint Memorial is to notify the
President of the United States, the United States Senate and
House of Representatives and Idaho's congressional delegation
that the Legislature of the State of Idaho considers the
"Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program of 2003"
to be an extremely important component of maintaining wildlife
related recreation in Idaho and the nation.  The program would
encourage owners and operators of privately held farm and ranch
land to voluntarily make their land available for access by the
public under programs administered by the States such as the
Idaho Department of Fish and Game's 'Access Yes' program.


                          FISCAL IMPACT

     No fiscal impact to the General Fund.  Wildlife related
recreation in Idaho is a $1.6 billion industry that supports
almost 20,000 jobs, many of which are in our rural communities. 
A voluntary access program provides some financial incentives to
private land owners to allow access.

Contact
Name: Steve Barton, Department of Fish and Game 
Phone: (208) 287-2798




STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                    HJM 019