69 



many years prior to that, species populations were significantly de- 

 pressed. During those times particularly, regulation of means and 

 methods of take are important to ensure the sustainability of the 

 resource and equity of hunting opportunities. 



Second, the regulations should be clearly and consistently under- 

 stood by sportsmen in the field. Our review will focus on bringing 

 some clarity and more certainty to some of the baiting regulation 

 language, such as "normal agricultural practices," while realizing 

 that baiting regulations cannot necessarily be written in black and 

 white and recognizing the need for appropriate officer discretion in 

 enforcement of these regulations. 



Number three, the baiting regulations should be able to be clear- 

 ly and consistently enforced by both Federal and State law enforce- 

 ment officers. There simply are not enough conservation law en- 

 forcement officers at both the Federal and State level to effectively 

 enforce our fish and wildlife conservation laws. We will, in our re- 

 view, look for ways to improve the consistency of application of 

 baiting regulations, however, by both our Federal and State law en- 

 forcement officers. 



Number four, the baiting regulations should reflect changing ag- 

 ricultural practices for both crop production and wildlife conserva- 

 tion purposes. One of the instances as addressed by Mr. Manning 

 was the moist soil management practices. There are other practices 

 that 20 years ago would not have been considered normal agricul- 

 tural practices which are now being recommended by conservation 

 agencies and organizations to enhance wildlife habitat, and we rec- 

 ommend that those circumstances — a prime example is CRP lands, 

 which 20 years ago, would normally have been hayed or grazed 

 which are now not hayed or grazed because they are being used to 

 enhance wildlife — these circumstances suggest that there is a need 

 for a contemporary review of the baiting regulations. 



And then finally, Mr. Chairman, the baiting regulations should 

 not discourage legitimate sport hunting because of ambiguities in 

 language or application. We do believe that there is a balance that 

 can be achieved between regulations that are adequate to protect 

 the resource but not so ambiguous that sportsmen and women set 

 down their firearms and stop hunting. We believe that our review 

 of the regulations can contribute to the appropriate balance. 



With that, Mr. Chairman, I will close, and thank you again for 

 the opportunity to be here. 



[The statement of Mr. Taylor may be found at end of hearing.] 



The Chairman. I thank the gentleman for your testimony, and 

 again, I have just told my staff, because Mr. Manning handed it 

 up, and whatever input — I have instructed him to write a piece of 

 legislation. Even Mr. Miller has agreed that we ought to change 

 the responsibility. Now, we have to go forward and see where the 

 regulations — like I said, the last time we addressed these was in 

 1972, and things have changed. Land set-asides have played a 

 major role; wetlands set-asides have played a major role, and we 

 are going to do that. 



Mr. Secretary Horn, you are up. Bill Horn? 



