New Legislation Would Give
Hunting and Fishing Priority
In National Wildlife Refuge System
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced April 29 the Clinton Administration's support for far-reaching legislation clearly defining for the first time the mission and priority public uses of the nearly century-old National Wildlife Refuge System, the nation's only federal lands specifically dedicated to wildlife conservation.
In an April 29 letter to Congressman Don Young, chairman of the Committee on Resources and sponsor of the new legislation, Secretary Babbitt hailed the bill's "strong and singular conservation mission" for the Refuge System and provisions defining compatible wildlife-dependent recreation--including fishing and hunting--on refuges as "legitimate and appropriate" public uses.
Introduced in the House of Representatives on April 23, the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, H.R. 1420, culminates intense negotiations to develop legislation that would address the varying concerns and interests on management and public use of the Refuge System. These negotiations involved the Congressional sponsors of refuge legislation introduced earlier this year as well as representatives of environmental and sportsmen's groups.
On April 30, Congressman Young's Resources Committee voted unanimously to approve the bill for consideration by the full House.
The debate on how refuge lands ought to be managed and used by the public has intensified and become more visible over the last two decades as the Refuge System expanded greatly and visitation grew to nearly 30 million people per year. The first national wildlife refuge was established in 1903, when President Teddy Roosevelt set aside a tiny Florida island as a protected area for birds being indiscriminately harvested for their plumage to meet the fashion demands of the day. Today, the 92-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, comprising 509 units in all 50 states and U.S. territories, forms a network of diverse landscapes wildlife call home, providing habitats where migratory birds thrive and endangered species mark their recovery.
An earlier refuge bill, introduced in March as H.R. 511, was opposed by Secretary Babbitt. His main opposition was the elevation of recreational uses to "purposes" of the Refuge System, rather than "uses" that first must be determined compatible with wildlife conservation, as they are currently considered. Testifying at a House hearing in March, Secretary Babbitt emphasized that wildlife conservation must remain the over-arching and sole purpose of the Refuge System.
Negotiations to develop new compromise legislation involved H.R. 1420's sponsors, including Congressmen Young (R-AK), John Dingell (D-MI), Jim Saxton (R-NJ), and George Miller (D-CA), and representatives of the National Audubon Society, Wildlife Management Institute, International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and Wildlife Legislative Fund of America.
The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, as spelled out in the new legislation, is "to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans."
The legislation defines compatible wildlife-dependent recreation as "a legitimate and appropriate general public use of the [Refuge] System." It establishes certain wildlife-dependent public uses as priority public uses, to receive enhanced consideration over others. These uses are defined as hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education and interpretation. The legislation states that these uses should be facilitated when compatible but does not mandate these activities.
H.R. 1420 retains refuge managers' authority to use their best professional judgment to determine compatible public uses and whether or not they will be permitted. "Compatible use" is defined as one that "will not materially interfere with or detract from the fulfillment of the mission of the [Refuge] System or the purposes of a refuge." This language retains the current regulatory definition of "compatible use" used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The new legislation includes provisions requiring all new public uses and any renewal of existing uses comply with a public involvement process spelled out in the bill. It also requires public involvement in the development of refuge management plans. The plans must identify the purposes of each refuge, data on wildlife populations, archaeological and cultural values, suitable visitor facilities, any problems that affect wildlife and actions to remedy them, and opportunities for compatible wildlife-dependent recreation.
