![]() |
(Washington, DC) – This week, three top priorities for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), the Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters (MAPWaters) Act, the Supporting the Health of Aquatic systems through Research Knowledge and Enhanced Dialogue (SHARKED) Act, and the Fix Our Forests Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Thanks to the leaders and Members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC), the 119th Congress is off to a fast start for natural resource conservation legislation.
The MAPWaters Act (H.R. 187), led by CSC Member Rep. Blake Moore and CSC Vice Chair Rep. Jimmy Panetta, passed the House unanimously (413-0) on January 21. The SHARKED Act (H.R. 207), led by CSC Members Rep. Rob Wittman and Rep. Marc Veasey, passed the House the same day on a voice vote. On January 23, the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 471), led by CSC Co-Chair Rep. Bruce Westerman and Rep. Scott Peters, passed the House on a 279-141 vote.
“CSF appreciates the Members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus for quickly advancing legislation to improve access to public waters for anglers, address shark depredation, and support active forest management on public lands,” said CSF President and CEO Jeff Crane. “House passage of these bills builds on the momentum generated by three bills that were passed and signed into law just last month, and we look forward to working with CSC Members in the Senate to ensure these bills make it to the President’s desk.”
The MAPWaters Act would improve public access to public waters by requiring certain federal agencies within the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to modernize and digitize their public water mapping information and in a consistent format. In addition to providing information on where anglers and boaters can access rivers and water bodies, this bill removes uncertainty to often confusing regulations regarding open and closed areas, allowable types of watercraft, allowable fishing tackle, among other important information.
The SHARKED Act would simply establish a non-regulatory task force that would be responsible for making recommendations for improving coordination and communication across the fisheries management community on shark depredation as well as identifying research and funding opportunities. Shark depredation continues to increase off our coasts, particularly along the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico, and this legislation will allow us to understand the scope of the problem while exploring opportunities and potential avenues to reduce negative interactions between sharks and anglers.
The Fix Our Forests Act would strengthen forest management policies to mitigate against severe wildfires and improve forest health and wildlife habitat. A similar version of the legislation passed the House in 2024 on a strong bipartisan vote (268-151), but it did not advance in the Senate. H.R. 471, in addition to supporting an innovative approach to wildfire risk reduction and management through the creation of fireshed management areas that facilitate collaboration among federal, state, tribal, and local governments to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration work, includes several longstanding CSF priorities. Among those are litigation reform, a Cottonwood fix, Good Neighbor Authority expansion, extended stewardship contracting, and increased acreage for NEPA categorical exclusions for wildfire resilience, insects and disease, and other restoration work to reduce hazardous fuels loads and restore forest health.
CSF thanks all of the bill sponsors for their work championing legislation to improve access and natural resource management policies that benefit wildlife and our sporting heritage.