BHA continues to track litigation over hunting and fishing opportunities on national wildlife refuges, including reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is engaged in discussions with the Center for Biological Diversity.
We’ve always supported the expansion of public hunting and fishing access on National Wildlife Refuge System lands and waters, for many years and across multiple administrations, and we remain strongly opposed to any actions that would diminish the expansion of hunting and fishing on our refuges.
We are urging the USFWS to reject any settlement agreements with the CBD. A settlement would be inconsistent with the USFWS’s responsibilities under the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, which directs the Service to prioritize the expansion of hunting and fishing on refuges.
Hunters and anglers long have driven both funding and support for establishment of refuges within the National Wildlife Refuge System. BHA will continue to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other administration officials to expand public hunting and fishing access on refuges, where local wildlife professionals identify new opportunities that are compatible with other wildlife management and conservation goals.
BHA remains committed to defending the lawful and appropriate expansion of hunting and fishing on over 2.3 million acres of national wildlife refuges in the United States.
About Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
The Voice For Our Wild Public Lands, Waters & Wildlife.