Legal Advocacy 2024 Recap

Happy Holidays from SCI’s Legal Advocacy Team!  The team had a busy year defending hunting freedoms and access.  Read on for our Legal Advocacy – 2024 Recap!

Victories: 4

• Louisiana: In late January, SCI celebrated the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the 2016 delisting of Louisiana black bear from the Endangered Species Act. SCI was the only organization that intervened to defend this delisting.  Our arguments obtained a dismissal of the lawsuit in 2020 and contributed to a second dismissal in 2024.  This case represents a huge victory because, subsequently, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved a black bear hunting season—an effort that SCI was also heavily involved in supporting and shaping.  SCI’s advocacy efforts, from defending the delisting in court to supporting the new hunting season, contributed to the opening of the first black bear season in the “Sportsmen’s Paradise” since the 1980s.  This is an incredible conservation success story, and all SCI members should be proud of this outcome!
• California: SCI, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, and Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation challenged a California law that prohibited the marketing of firearms in a manner “attractive to minors.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the law unconstitutional under the First Amendment and then denied further review despite the State of California’s request.  The successful outcome protects the ability of SCI’s California Chapters (and SCI itself) to support youth hunting and use firearms raffles to raise funds for their youth hunting activities.
• Wolves: SCI submitted a brief challenging a California district court’s decision to vacate a 2020 rule removing gray wolves in the Lower 48 States from the Endangered Species Act’s protections. The case was stayed for over a year, but finally moved forward in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Colorado: SCI’s entire advocacy team and membership celebrated a huge victory when Colorado voters rejected a ballot initiative to prohibit the hunting of mountain lions and bobcats!

Public Comments and Letters: 28

• The team submitted public comments to seven federal agencies, four states, and Parks Canada. Comments covered a wide range of areas of hunting concern.  For example, SCI supported the opening of additional hunting on National Wildlife Refuges across the United States.  SCI supported the proposed alternative to maintain elk populations in western Wyoming through responsible use of state-run feedgrounds.  At the same time, SCI opposed a proposed policy that would elevate consideration of Biological Integrity, Diversity, and Environmental Health on National Wildlife Refuges and prohibit necessary predator management.  SCI opposed the potential closure of public hunting opportunities on the Seal River Watershed in Manitoba.  And SCI opposed a new rule that revised firearms license requirements and restricted the ability of U.S. hunters to travel internationally with their firearms.  SCI’s comments covered species from elk to bear to wolves and wolverine, and ranged from Alaska to Florida.

New Cases or Potential Cases: 7

• Relisting Wolves: SCI and partners at Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation intervened in three lawsuits that seek to reimpose Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. These wolves have been recovered for decades and do not meet the definition of endangered or threatened species.
• Massachusetts: SCI sent a demand letter to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, requesting clarification on how a draconian new firearms law will apply to non-resident hunters. Among other things, the law requires registration of firearms but does not provide an avenue for how non-residents might comply.
• Elephant Rule: SCI sent a Notice of Intent to Sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a new rule imposing a “certification” requirement on African range states to approve the import of elephant hunting trophies. The rule was vigorously opposed by range states due to concerns of additional red tape and restrictions on imports.  SCI met with the Service to discuss the rule and, ultimately, resolved concerns over how the Service would implement the certification requirement.  The result is a more efficient permitting process—for the benefit of SCI members and, most importantly, for the benefit of conservation hunting in southern Africa.
• Colorado: SCI and Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation sued two Commissioners on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission for violating the state’s Open Meetings Law, in connection with an op-ed that opposed mountain lion hunting. The case remains in active litigation.  But it has already shown these Commissioners that hunters will not sit idly while they violate state law.
• Coyotes: The Legal Advocacy team provided support for administrative challenges to a decision by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission to shorten the coyote hunting season, in violation of state law that requires decisions be based on science.
• Recreational Shooting: SCI is considering two new cases challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s closures of recreational shooting on National Monuments. These closures violate the Dingell Act, which restricts federal agencies’ discretion to close hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting.
• Amicus Briefs: The Legal Advocacy team submitted a number of amicus briefs to courts including the U.S. Supreme Court, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.