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NWRS refuges range in size
from the minuscule (0.5 acres
Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge
in Minnesota) to the massive
19.3 million acre Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge, established by
President Eisenhower in 1960.
Individual refuges serve a
multitude of purposes including
protecting endangered plants
and animals and their habitats,
preserving wilderness areas,
providing outdoor recreational
and educational opportunities,
and providing lands and waters
for traditional uses such as
hunting and fishing.
Collectively, NWRS habitats
are essential for producing and
maintaining North America’s
migratory birds, particularly
waterfowl. Refuge lands and waters
assure future generations
of Americans they will have
opportunities to observe, enjoy
and learn about our wildlife heritage,
and to participate in the ancient
and honorable traditions of
hunting and fishing.
America’s NWRS is the world’s
largest and most comprehensive
wildlife conservation
system—increasingly valuable
as a demonstration of our
national commitment
to healthy environments.
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Part I: Background
The year 2003 celebrated the centennial of the founding of today’s National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), begun by President Theodore Roosevelt with the establishment of Pelican Island (Florida) as the nation’s first land dedicated as a wildlife refuge. Since that time, NWRS has grown substantially, and is now comprised of 542 refuges (over 92 million acres), 202 waterfowl production areas on other Federal lands (2.9 million acres), and 50 “Coordination Areas” (0.32 million acres) that are part of the NWRS but are managed by individual states. In total, NWRS is responsible for managing habitat and wildlife on over 95 million acres, or 150,000 square miles. The NWRS system is larger than the National Parks system.
NWRS refuges range in size from the minuscule (0.5 acres Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota) to the massive 19.3 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, established by President Eisenhower in 1960. Individual refuges serve a multitude of purposes including protecting endangered plants and animals and their habitats, preserving wilderness areas, providing outdoor recreational and educational opportunities, and providing lands and waters for traditional uses such as hunting and fishing.
Collectively, NWRS habitats are essential for producing and maintaining North America’s migratory birds, particularly waterfowl. Refuge lands and waters assure future generations of Americans they will have opportunities to observe, enjoy and learn about our wildlife heritage, and to participate in the ancient and honorable traditions of hunting and fishing. America’s NWRS is the world’s largest and most comprehensive wildlife conservation system—increasingly valuable as a demonstration of our National commitment to healthy environments.
NWRS is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and, as such, competes for limited financial resources, leadership guidance, decision-making, and timely commitment to problem solving with a multitude of other USFWS programs. USFWS has a demonstrated record favoring the apparent "urgencies" of the regulatory programs in allocating resources, providing timely and knowledgeable decision-making, supportive guidance, and problem solving attention.
Part II: Recommendations
Republicans for Environmental Protection advocates the separation of the National Wildlife Refuge System from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and creation of a separate U.S. National Wildlife Refuge Service within the Department of Interior. REP recommends this status change for the following primary reasons.
- The multiple-values philosophy underlying sound principles of wildlife refuge management, including traditional consumptives use of wildlife, would best be served by removing the NWRS from the USFWS. This action would allow its leadership to focus on system integrity, continuity (including continuity of traditional uses), and improving efficiency and product delivery while fully implementing the 1997 NWRS Improvement Act as intended by Congress.
- The NWRS has outgrown the USFWS and deserves equal status with sister land management agencies, the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management in the Department of Interior and U.S. Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture.
- The NWRS would benefit financially and otherwise by not competing for limited funds and leadership support with other USFWS programs. Funding competition, in particular, can be significantly skewed against the NWRS when lawsuits against the USFWS result in court orders mandating that specific congressionally-authorized programs, such as enforcement of the Endangered Species Act, be given higher funding priorities.
More information is available from the following web sites:
This paper was written by in 2004 by REP Director Vince Williams, the chairman of our Policy Committee.
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