That basic question has become the most immediate
issue confronting the system today, and the answer will determine
how refuge land will be managed in the future.
As long as the goal of wildlife conservation
was not compromised, other uses have been a part of the refuge
formula. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has had no quarrel
with hunting and fishingor other outdoor recreationon
refuges where these uses are appropriate. In season, hunters already
have access to 274 refuges, and more will soon be opened to them.
The hunting community has contributed to the purchase and conservation
of wetlands through the Duck Stamp Act of 1934.
Maintenance and repair of facilities are enormous.
In the past decade Congress has added 80 refuges to the system,
but the refuges annual operating budget ($U.S. 169 million
in 1995) has not kept pace with this growth. Now, even as refuges
are asked to handle more and more public access, some of these
vast holdings are perceived as burdens on taxpayers.
Some members of Congress have suggested selling
off portions of the refuge system. Others have favored opening
them up for more public use. In April the House approved a measure
introduced by Representative Don Young of Alaska, the National
Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act H.R. 1675, that
would redefine the purpose of the refuge system to give recreation,
hunting, fishing, and trapping equal status with wildlife conservation.
The Young bill would also allow military air exercises or ground
maneuvers, already permitted in some refuges, to be expanded to
additional sanctuaries. And finally, the measure would allow
states to manage refuges.
Opponents of the measure say it is outrageously
misnamed, arguing that if the bill were to become law, refuges
would be badly weakened.
Its defenders counter that environmental groups,
who stand almost unanimously against the bill, have exaggerated
its potential damage. They hold that the main effect of the bill
would be to simply clear up a fuzzy lawto state once and
for all the purposes and compatible uses of refuges and to take
the decision on what constitutes compatible use out of the hands
of individual refuge managers and put it under the control of
national policymakers.
Click on the individual issues at left to learn
more about challenges to the refuge system.
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