After Passage of “Sportsmen’s Heritage Act,” BLM Backs Down on Shooting Ban

On May 11, the Bureau of Land Management announced that it was abandoning the effort to ban recreational shooting on the Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona. BLM released a new proposed management plan that protects “monument objects and values” through best management practices, but does not close the monument to shooters. This announcement is a major victory for gun owners, as it reversed BLM’s intent to close the half million-acre SDNM to recreational shooting. The original SDNM plan mirrored BLM’s decision last year to drive shooters out of the Ironwood Forest National Monument, also in Arizona. BLM’s announcement came as a formal statement to the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council, a federal advisory council that reports to the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture on matters relating to hunting and recreational shooting. The abrupt reversal by the BLM came shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. R. 4089, “The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act.” One of the major provisions of that legislation requires congressional approval for any recreational shooting restrictions proposed on BLM-managed national monuments. The bill further directs the BLM to manage national monument land in a manner that supports, promotes, and enhances recreational shooting opportunities...more

Expect all the BLM plans to allow sports shooting...at least those between now and election day.