,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ddbb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #ae1 #bjbe,mr4 
,thanedar 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,carson1   
,mr4 ,krishnamoorthi1 and ,ms4 ,norton7 
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,natural 
,resources1 and in addition to the      
,committee on ,agriculture1 for a period
 to be subsequently determined by the   
,speaker1 in each case for consideration
 of such provisions as fall within the  
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to require the adoption and 
enforcement of regulations to prohibit  
the intentional feeding of bears on     
,federal public lands in order to end   
the hunting practice known as bear      
baiting and reduce the number of        
dangerous interactions between people   
and bears4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,don't ,feed the    
,bears ,act of #bjbe4  #b4 ,prohibition 
on feeding bears on ,federal public     
lands  7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the

 following3  7#a7 ,federal land         
management agencies1 including the      
,forest ,service1 ,national ,park       
,service1 ,united ,states ,fish and     
,wildlife ,service1 and ,bureau of ,land
 ,management1 publish and distribute    
materials to the public discouraging any
 feeding of black bears4  7#b7 ,even    
though ,federal land managers are in    
agreement that private citizens should  
not provide food to bears1 several      
,federal land management agencies do not
 prohibit licensed hunters from setting 
out food as bait for bears on ,federal  
lands in ,states where baiting is       
permitted by ,state law4  7#c7 ,a       
typical bait station consists of        
hundreds of pounds of human-scented     
foods1 often including parts of animal  
carcasses1 pastries1 fruits1 and grease1
 that are simply piled on the forest    
floor or dumped in large drums4  7#d7   
,the foods used in a bait station are no
 different than the human-scented foods 
that a bear might find in a garbage can1

 dump1 or campground1 and after the bear
 hunting season ends1 bait stations are 
often not removed4  7#e7 ,the presence  
of bait stations on ,federal lands      
allows bears to increase their food     
intake and results in higher birth      
rates1 increasing bear populations4     
7#f7 ,wildlife scientists agree that    
black bears are naturally wary of       
people1 but that feeding bears          
human-scented foods can cause bears to  
lose their wariness and become          
emboldened in approaching people and    
property in search of food4  7#g7       
,human-fed bears cause millions of      
dollars in property damage every year4  
7#h7 ,bears habituated to human food can
 pose a safety threat1 occasionally     
resulting in attacks on human beings4   
7#i7 ,bears that come into conflict with
 people are often labeled as nuisance   
animals1 and are often killed as a means
 of protecting people and property4     
7#aj7 ,when the ,national ,park ,service
 adopted policies to ban bear feeding   

and to end the practice of keeping      
garbage in open-air dumps1 units of the 
,national ,park ,system experienced a   
dramatic decline in bear-human          
encounters4  7#aa7 ,a majority of the   
,states that allow bear hunting ban     
baiting1 and black bears can be hunted  
successfully by means other than        
baiting4  7#ab7 ,it is inconsistent for 
,federal land management agencies to    
demand that visitors to the ,federal    
lands not feed bears1 but to allow this 
practice by bear baiters4  7#ac7 ,the   
,united ,states already prohibits       
baiting of migratory birds4  7b7        
,enforcement of existing nps regulation 
,the ,secretary of the ,interior shall  
enforce the regulatory prohibition1     
contained in section #b4b7;a77#b7 of    
title #cf1 ,code of ,federal            
,regulations1 against the feeding of    
wildlife on ,national ,park ,system     
lands to prohibit individuals from      
intentionally feeding bears for the     
purpose of enticing bears to a          

particular area to be hunted1 a practice
 known as bear baiting4  7c7            
,enforcement of existing fws regulation 
,the ,secretary of the ,interior shall  
enforce the regulatory prohibition1     
contained in section #cb4b7;h7 of title 
#ej1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1    
against bear baiting and the baiting of 
other wildlife on wildlife refuge areas4
  7d7  ,adoption of regulations for     
other public lands  7#a7  ,regulation   
required  ,the ,secretary of the        
,interior1 with respect to lands        
administered by the ,bureau of ,land    
,management1 and the ,secretary of      
,agriculture1 with respect to ,national 
,forest ,system lands1 shall each adopt 
and enforce a regulation to prohibit    
individuals from intentionally feeding  
bears1 including feeding for the purpose
 of enticing bears to a particular area 
to be hunted1 a practice known as bear  
baiting4  7#b7  ,deadline for adoption  
,the regulations required by this       
subsection shall be issued in final form

 not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this ,act4  7e7     
,exception in extraordinary cases  ,the 
regulations referred to in subsections  
7b7 and 7c71 and the regulations        
required by subsection 7d71 shall       
provide an exception in extraordinary   
cases when the ,secretary concerned     
determines that bear feeding is required
 for the welfare of the bear1           
preservation of public safety1 or       
authorized wildlife research4