On March 19, 2012, the Department of Interior published a request for nominations to the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council in the attached FEDERAL REGISTER notice. Tribal resource management organizations are one of ten categories of “national interest groups” eligible to nominate “senior level” representatives to serve on the Council. The deadline to submit nominations is April 18, 2012.
The Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council is subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and advises the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture (including the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Forest Service, Natural Resources Service and Farm Services Agency) on fostering communication and coordination among state, tribal and federal governments and industry representatives, hunters, wildlife and habitat conservation organizations and the public.
There are 18 spaces available for “discretionary” (non-federal) representatives on the Council; however, current Council membership includes only one representative from a tribal resource management organization. This means that the present request for nominations is an opportunity for tribes to increase their membership on the Council. Applicants from tribal resource management organizations that represent several tribes rather than a single tribe may be given stronger consideration.
The Council’s most recent meeting was held on February 14-15, 2012, in Washington, DC. On February 22, 2012, the Council’s updated and renewed charter was published in the FEDERAL REGISTER increasing the term limit for discretionary members from two years to three and adding a representative from the National Park Service as an ex-officio member. The updated charter is attached.
Please let us know if we may provide additional information on the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council.
