About
Following significant access expansions from the Trump Administration, Safari Club International is fighting for a No-Net-Loss commitment from the Biden Administration. A No-Net-Loss policy means maintaining the current level of hunting and fishing access on federal public lands across the country.
Committing to support a no-net-loss policy is committing to sound stewardship of our natural resources. Hunters and anglers are essential to the effective management of public land. Hunting license sales and federal taxes on a wide variety of hunting supplies contribute funds directly to state wildlife management. All of this stands to decline—with consequential losses for wildlife and habitat—if access to public lands for hunters and anglers is reduced.
Take Action - Sign the No-Net-Loss Petition!
Access
Safari Club International believes that public lands are for public use. As outlined in the North American Model of Conservation, hunters are critical to true conservation of wildlife and habitat.
SCI supports efforts by the federal government to expand access for hunters and anglers, such as the recent 2.1 million acre expansion on National Wildlife Refuges across the country. SCI is actively opposed to further access restrictions on public land, such as a potential loss of 40 million acres in Alaska and 3.2 million acres recently restricted at Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Expanding access for hunters is the most effective and sustainable model of resource use and ecosystem protection.
30x30 Initiative
The Biden Administration released the outline of their “America the Beautiful” initiative, which includes the 30×30 plan – the goal of conserving 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. True conservation is a method of species and ecosystem protection made possible by sustainable use, active management, and revenue generation, whereas a preservationist approach would entail a minimized use of nature and resources, beginning with hunting prohibitions.
While in theory the Biden Administration's initiative includes the proposals of sportsmen and women, unfortunately it is devoid of details and offers no specifics on the wide range of conservation questions. For starters, the Administration has yet to even define “conservation”.
Nominees
The Biden Administration has repeatedly failed to commit to a “No-Net-Loss” policy, meaning the Administration will not pledge to preserve current access to public lands for hunters and anglers around the country.
- Secretary of the Department of the Interior Deb Haaland refuses to commit to a policy of "No-Net-Loss" of access to hunting and fishing on public lands.
- Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau also did not commit to "No-Net-Loss" in his confirmation hearing.
- Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz stated she will work with all stakeholders and to increase access, but did not commit to "No-Net-Loss."
