Secretarial Order 3356

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
WASHINGTON

ORDER NO. 3356
Subject:

Hunting, Fishing, Recreational Shooting, and Wildlife Conservation Opportunities
and Coordination with States, Tribes, and Territories

Sec. 1 Purpose. This Order continues the Department's efforts to enhance conservation
stewardship; increase outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans, including opportunities
to hunt and fish; and improve the management of game species and their habitats for this
generation and beyond. It directs several components of the Department to assess past and
ongoing implementation of the recommendations set forth in Executive Order 13443,
"Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation," to inform how best to enhance and
expand public access to lands and waters administered by the Department- lands and waters
owned by all Americans-for hunting, fishing, recreational shooting, and other forms of outdoor
recreation. In addition, this Order gives greater priority to recruiting and retaining sportsmen
and women conservationists, with an emphasis on engaging youth, veterans, minorities, and
underserved communities that traditionally have low participation in outdoor recreation
activities. Finally, this Order directs greater collaboration with state, tribes, and territorial
partners.
Sec. 2 Authorities. This Order is issued under the authority of section 2 of Reorganization Plan
No. 3 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1262), as amended, Executive Order 13443, "Facilitation of Hunting
Heritage and Wildlife Conservation"; and the Department's land and resource management
authorities, including the following:
a.

Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 742a, et seq;

b.
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, as amended, 16
U.S.C. 668dd et seq;
C.

Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, 43 U.S.C. 1701,

etseq;and

d.

National Park Service Organic Act of 1916, as amended, 54 U.S.C. 100101, et

seq.

Sec. 3 Background. As President Theodore Roosevelt recognized, "in a civilized and
cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen." For
generations, countless Americans have hunted and fished across the Nation's natural landscapes
and waters, enjoying opportunities steeped in traditions, rich in history, and integral to meeting
many subsistence and sustenance needs, while also providing an effective means of managing
various populations of wildlife species.

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Robust and sustainable wildlife populations contribute greatly to our Nation's well-being.
In addition, through the sale of licenses and sporting equipment, and associated excise taxes,
sportsmen and women have helped generate billions of dollars in conservation funding each
year. Expanding hunting, fishing, and recreational opportunities will provide additional revenue
for fish and wildlife conservation, and for many small rural communities across America. In
addition, the goal of attaining and sustaining healthy wildlife populations can also be achieved in
concert with the varied nature of differing land uses and missions.
The Department has broad responsibilities to manage Federal lands, waters, and resources for the
public's benefit, including managing habitat to support fish, wildlife, and other resources, and
providing recreational opportunities on Federal lands and waters. On March 2, 2017, Secretary
Zinke issued Secretary's Order 3347, "Conservation Stewardship and Outdoor Recreation."
Secretary's Order 3347 does the following:
a.
directs the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks and the Assistant
Secretary for Land and Minerals Management to 1) report to the Secretary within 30 days all
actions taken to implement Executive Order 13443 and all actions described in Executive Order
13443 that have not occurred and 2) provide specific recommendations to improve the
implementation of Executive Order 13443, particularly regarding efforts to enhance and expand
recreational fishing access;
b.
mandates the Department to submit reports, upon the Secretary's approval, to the
Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council and the Sport Fishing and Boating
Partnership Council for their respective responses and recommendations; and
c.
instructs the Department to identify within 30 days, specific actions concerning
recreational hunting and fishing on public lands and waters, habitat improvement, predator
management, and access to public lands and waters.
The 30-day due date identified in Secretary's Order 3347 has now elapsed. Following in the
footsteps of President Roosevelt's commitment to conservation stewardship, this Order is being
issued to enhance and expand upon Secretary's Order 3347 and further implement the
recommendations provided to the Secretary.
Sec. 4 Directive. The following actions are to be taken consistent with governing laws,
regulations, and principles of responsible public stewardship:
a.
With respect to Secretary's Order 3347, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) shall:
(1)
implement the specific recommendations provided to the Secretary
pursuant to Secretary's Order 3347 to enhance recreational fishing-specifically, those
recommendations regarding efforts to enhance and expand recreational fishing access, where
practicable; and

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(2)
within 120 days of the issuance of this Order, provide a detailed
implementation plan for BLM, FWS, and NPS to implement the other recommendations
provided to the Secretary pursuant to Secretary's Order 3347.
b.
With respect to Department lands and waters, the responsible bureaus and offices
within the Department shall:
(1)
amend National Monument Management Plans to include or expand
hunting, recreational shooting, and fishing opportunities to the extent practicable under the law;
(2)
in a manner that respects the rights and privacy of the owners of
non-public lands, identify lands and waters where access to Department lands and waters,
particularly access for hunting, fishing, recreational shooting, and other forms of outdoor
recreation, is currently limited (including areas of Department land and waters that may be
impractical or impossible to access via public roads or trails under current conditions, but where
there may be an opportunity to gain access through a voluntary easement, right-of-way, or
voluntary acquisition), and within 60 days, provide to the Deputy Secretary a report detailing
such lands and waters;
(3)
within 365 days, cooperate, coordinate, create, make available, and
continuously update online a single "one stop" Department site database of available
opportunities for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on Department lands and waters;
(4)
consistent with relevant state laws, identify whether hunting, fishing,
and/or recreational shooting opportunities on Department lands could be expanded and, within
60 days, provide recommendations to the Deputy Secretary on where such expansions may
occur;
(5)
within 30 days, examine and provide recommendations to the Deputy
Secretary on how to streamline and improve the permitting process for guides and outfitters on
Department lands and waters, including recommendations for the development of a distinct
permitting process for non-profit organizations (such as those working with youth, veterans, or
underserved communities); and
(6)
incorporate analysis of the impacts of Federal land and water management
actions on hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting access in planning and decisionmaking.
c.
With respect to participation in hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting,
bureaus and offices shall:
(1)
identify opportunities to help provide voluntary public access to private
lands and waters for hunting and fishing;
(2)
within 60 days and in consultation with the relevant states, identify grant
and/or cooperative agreement opportunities that may be made available for community programs

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for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting participation, such as
recruitment/retention/reactivation; and
(3)
work with veterans and youth programs to provide hunting, fishing, and
recreational shooting mentor training programs.
d.
With respect to working harmoniously with our state, tribal, territorial, and local
partners, bureaus and offices shall:
identify full-time employees who are responsible for access to hunting,
fishing, recreational shooting, and other outdoor recreational opportunities on Department lands
and waters and work in close collaboration with state and local partners on these efforts;
(1)

(2)
coordinate with state, tribal, and territorial wildlife management agencies
to identify opportunities for increased access to Department lands and waters, including
identifying opportunities for access through adjacent private lands;
(3)
collaborate with state, tribal, and territorial fish and wildlife agencies to
attain or sustain wildlife population goals during Department land-management planning and
implementation, including prioritizing active habitat-management projects and funding that
contribute to achieving wildlife population objectives, particularly for wildlife that is hunted or
fished, and identifying additional ways to include or delegate to states habitat management work
on Federal lands;
(4)
work cooperatively with state, tribal, and territorial wildlife agencies to
enhance their access to Department lands for wildlife management actions;
within 180 days, develop a proposed categorical exclusion for proposed
(5)
projects that utilize common practices solely intended to enhance or restore habitat for species
such as sage-grouse and/or mule deer;
(6)
significantly increase migratory waterfowl populations and hunting
opportunities throughout large portions of the country by:
(a)
enhancing and improving the use of voluntary perpetual grassland
and wetland conservation easements;
(b)

expanding habitat and water conservation/protection efforts on

wintering habitats;
assessing and utilizing sound science to direct the development of
(c)
proposed project and/or policy proposals to enhance waterfowl production;
(d)

identifying partnerships and resource opportunities; and

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(e)
utilizing sound scientific evidence in conjunction with
landowner/stakeholder input.
(7)
work cooperatively with state, tribal, and territorial wildlife agencies to
ensure that hunting and fishing regulations for Department lands and waters complement the
regulations on the surrounding lands and waters to the extent legally practicable; and
(8)
within 180 days, in close coordination and cooperation with the
appropriate state, tribal, or territorial wildlife agency, begin the necessary process to modify
regulations in order to advance shared wildlife conservation goals/objectives that align predatormanagement programs, seasons, and methods of take permitted on all Department-managed
lands and waters with corresponding programs, seasons, and methods established by state, tribal,
and territorial wildlife management agencies to the extent legally practicable.
e.

Within 180 days, bureaus and offices shall:

(1)
create an implementation plan to update all existing regulations, orders,
guidance documents, policies, instructions, manuals, directives, notices, implementing actions,
new employee training orders, and any other similar actions to be consistent with this Order; and
(2)
review and use the best available science to inform the development of
specific guidelines for Department lands and water related to planning and developing energy,
transmission, infrastructure, or other relevant projects to avoid or minimize potential negative
impacts on wildlife.
f.
Heads of bureaus will ensure that appropriate Senior Executive Service
employees under his or her purview include a performance standard in their respective current or
future performance plan that specifically implements the applicable actions identified in this
Order.
Sec. 5 Implementation. The Deputy Secretary is responsible for taking all reasonably
necessary steps to implement this Order.
Sec. 6 Effect of Order. This Order is intended to improve the internal management of the
Department. This Order and any resulting reports or recommendations are not intended to, and
do not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a
party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities or entities, its officers
or employees, or any other person. To the extent there is any inconsistency between the
provisions of this Order and any Federal laws or regulations, the laws or regulations will control.

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Sec. 7 Expiration Date. This Order is effective immediately. It will remain in effect until its
provisions are implemented and completed, or until it is amended, superseded, or revoked.

Date:

SEP 152'"7