Some good news from Fish & Wildlife! It's long but summarized at the very
end - listing the new multiple use priorities.

Peggi

>
> LANDMARK LAW CHARTS BRIGHT COURSE
> FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE
> NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM
>
>
> President Clinton today signed the National Wildlife Refuge System
>Improvement Act of 1997, for the first time formally establishing fish,
>wildlife, and plant conservation as the mission of the world's largest
>network of lands and waters dedicated to wildlife. The new law also
>gives priority to certain wildlife-dependent recreational uses of
>national wildlife refuges.
>
> The only system of federal lands devoted specifically to wildlife,
>the National Wildlife Refuge System is a network of diverse and
>strategically located habitats. More than 500 national wildlife refuges
>across the United States teem with millions of migratory birds, serve as
>havens for hundreds of endangered species, and host an enormous variety of
>other plants and animals.
>
> For nearly a century, the 92-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
>System has been managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under a
>variety of laws without an "organic act," or comprehensive legislation
>spelling out how it ought to be managed and used by the public. The
>legislation signed by President Clinton resolves these key issues, which
>had grown more complex as the Refuge System expanded and visitation
>increased to nearly 30 million people a year.
>
> "This legislation marks a milestone in the National Wildlife Refuge
>System's history by making wildlife conservation its overarching mission
>and ensuring sportsmen, birdwatchers, and other wildlife enthusiasts ample
>opportunities to enjoy this magnificent collection of wild lands," said
>Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.
>
> "This is truly historic conservation legislation," said Jamie
>Rappaport Clark, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "The
>U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now has a clear, unifying law to help
>ensure a vibrant National Wildlife Refuge System. Managing this system of
>federal lands for conservation will help ensure healthy and abundant
>populations of wildlife for future generations of Americans to enjoy."
>
> The new law is a product of extensive negotiations over the last
>several months among Secretary Babbitt, Congressional sponsors Don Young
>(R-AK) and John Dingell (D-MI), and leaders of key sportsmen's and
>environmental organizations. All joined forces to develop legislation to
>address varying concerns and interests on management and public use of the
>National Wildlife Refuge System, which had been the only major federal
>land management agency to lack an organic act.
>
> Other Congressmen who were instrumental in building overwhelming
>bipartisan support for the bill were George Miller (D-CA), John Tanner
>(D-TN), Jim Saxton (R-NJ), and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI); and Senators John
>Chafee (R-RI), Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID), Bob Graham (D-FL), and Max Baucus
>(D-MT). Representatives of sportsmen's and environmental groups who were
>key players in the legislation's development were Dan Beard, Senior Vice
>President of the National Audubon Society; Rollin Sparrowe, President of
>the Wildlife Management Institute; Bill Horn, Legislative Director for the
>Wildlife Legislative Fund of America; and Max Peterson, Executive Vice
>President of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
>
> President Teddy Roosevelt established 3-acre Pelican Island in
>Florida as the first national wildlife refuge in 1903 by executive order
>because of concern over the widespread killing of birds for feathers used
>for hats and other fashions of the day. Roosevelt went on to establish 51
>more bird refuges during his presidency, as well as refuges for big game
>like buffalo and elk.
>
> Plummeting migratory bird populations in the 1920s and 30s led to
>laws to protect these species and their wetlands habitat, including
>authority to establish national wildlife refuges in key areas. As a
>result, hundreds of national wildlife refuges were strategically
>established along the four major migration pathways, or "flyways" that run
>north to south in the continental U.S. These laws also called for
>protection of prime waterfowl breeding grounds in the Upper Midwest
>prairie region, leading to management of thousands of small ponds or
>"potholes" called waterfowl production areas. These are managed in units
>called wetland management districts, which are also part of the National
>Wildlife Refuge System.
>
> In the 1960s and 70s, the Endangered Species Act and other laws
>called for the protection of plants and animals threatened with
>extinction. The National Wildlife Refuge System became host to some of
>the nation's most endangered species, with more than 200 finding safe
>haven on national wildlife refuges. In 1980, the Alaska National Interest
>Lands Conservation Act added 54 million acres to the Refuge System in that
>state.
>
> In 1962, the Refuge Recreation Act authorized recreational uses of
>national wildlife refuges when such uses do not interfere with the primary
>purpose of a refuge. In 1966, a "compatibility standard" for allowing
>public uses on refuges was established with passage of the National
>Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, which the law signed today
>amends. The 1966 law also officially united this growing network of
>wildlife habitat areas together into one land management system.
>
> The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 defines
>clearly a unifying mission for the Refuge System, calls for enhanced
>consideration of certain wildlife-dependent public uses when compatible,
>and outlines a specific process by which compatibility determinations
>should be made. The act comes on the cusp of the 100th anniversary for
>the Refuge System, just in time to guide its management and public uses
>into the next century.
>
> -FWS-
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Key Provisions of the
> National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act
>
>Defines the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which 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."
>
>Requires the Secretary of the Interior to ensure the biological
>integrity, diversity, and environmental health of the National Wildlife
>Refuge System are maintained.
>
>Defines compatible wildlife-dependent recreation as "legitimate and
>appropriate general public use of the [National Wildlife Refuge] System."
>
>It establishes hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and
>environmental education and interpretation as "priority public uses" where
>compatible with the mission and purpose of individual national wildlife
>refuges.
>
>Retains refuge managers' authority to use sound professional judgment in
>determining compatible public uses on national wildlife refuges and
>whether or not they will be allowed. It establishes a formal process for
>determining "compatible use."
>
>Requires public involvement in decisions to allow new uses of national
>wildlife refuges and renew existing ones, as well as in the development of
>"comprehensive conservation plans" for national wildlife refuges. In
>addition, refuges that do not already have such plans are required to
>develop them.
> -FWS-
>
>
>
>============================================================
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>Questions concerning a particular news release or item of
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>contact. General comments or observations concerning the
>content of the information should be directed to Craig
>Rieben (craig_rieben at mail.fws.gov) in the Office of Public
>Affairs.
>
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>
>.-
>
>
Ben & Peggi Rodgers
Aptos, CA (near Santa Cruz 122 W, 37 N)
USA
woodduck at cruzio.com
http://www2.cruzio.com/~woodduck/


"A bird does not sing because it has an answer,
It sings because it has a song"