U.S. National Refuge System Turns 100

PELICAN ISLAND, Florida, March 14, 2003 (ENS) - One hundred years ago today, President Teddy Roosevelt ordered federal protection for a three acre island off the coast of Florida, creating the nation's first National Wildlife Refuge. This legacy that began with Pelican Island has since grown into the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System, covering 95.3 million acres within 540 refuges across all of the nation's fifty states and several U.S. territories.

Today's commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Wildlife Refuge System was celebrated in refuges across the country, highlighted with a special ceremony at Pelican Island.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which manages the refuge system, used today's ceremony "to put the welcome mat out to every American" to visit national refuges, said Steve Williams, FWS Director.

Pelicans have refuge on and around Pelican Island. (Photo by John and Karen Hollingsworth courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS))

"Wildlife refuges are unique because we have struck a balance between the needs of wildlife and people," Williams said.

"On this historic occasion, we invite every American to discover a wildlife refuge near their home and to join with us in protecting these natural treasures for the next 100 years," added Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton.

Conservationists joined in the celebrations today of a system that has provided critical protection for the nation's plants, animals and wild places, but many believe the balance Williams described is in jeopardy.

These celebrations, they say, should be echoed with words of warning for a system they find under siege by hostile and misguided government policies.

The nation's refuge system is the "most magnificent assembly of varied habitats we have designated in this country for the primary purpose of fish, wildlife and plant conservation," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, senior vice president for conservation programs at the National Wildlife Federation. "But the system is under attack."

National Wildlife Refuges afford all Americans an opportunity to interact with nature. (Photo by Charles Shuman courtesy FWS)

Insufficient funding, encroaching development, erosion and invasive species threaten many of the refuges. Some eight million acres are infested with invasive plants that compromise habitat management objectives.

But it is the current policies of the Bush administration that have drawn the most criticism from conservationists, in particular the effort to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling.

This is an unparalleled threat to the entire refuge system, explained Clark, who served as the FWS director under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.

Opening ANWR would set a "shattering precedent," Clark said, and "render a crippling blow to the principle that only activities compatible with wildlife conservation should be allowed within the National Wildlife Refuge System."

"So goes ANWR so goes the rest of the refuge system," Clark said. "This debate is not just about plants and animals, it is about the legacy we leave to future generations."

The administration has refuted this claim. Norton told members of Congress Wednesday that the move to open ANWR is "unique."

"It is not precedent setting for other refuges," Norton said.

The possibility that ANWR could be opened to oil drilling has never looked more probable. Both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have put line items to open ANWR into budget provisions that are meant to fund the U.S. Congress.

Last year's attempt to open ANWR was narrowly defeated by the Democratically controlled Senate. Supporters and opponents believe they have the votes to win, but it is far from clear who will prevail. It is likely a vote will take place as early as next week.

"It's outrageous that Secretary Norton would mark today's anniversary by asking Americans to protect our refuges, even as she is working furiously behind the scenes to pressure Congress to destroy the system's crown jewel," said Noah Matson, director of the public lands program for Defenders of Wildlife. "The last strongholds of wildlife habitat in America are in serious jeopardy."

The Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge helps to protect critical wetlands in Illinois. (Photo by Ned Trovillion courtesy FWS)

But funding from Congress has decreased, even in the wake of the 1997 Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act, which gave FWS additional conservation responsibilities many applauded at the time.

The National Wildlife Refuge System has a $2 billion funding backlog and many of the refuges are severely understaffed.

The Bush administration's 2004 budget proposal earmarks some $402 million for the National Wildlife Refuge System, a $25 million increase over its previous request but still far short of what is needed to reduce the funding backlog.

"An increase of $350 million annually is needed to meet the system's operating needs," Watson said. "For the price of one sports stadium, you could fully fund the refuge system. That is a small price to pay to honor the legacy of Teddy Roosevelt."

The funding gaps for the system increase threats from development and invasive species. Development is encroaching on many refuges, but funding for land acquisition has been slashed.

The Bush administration's 2004 budget requests 60 percent less than the prior year for FWS land acquisition funds, yet officials defend the cuts by saying that other agencies and state governments have sufficient funds for important land acquisitions.

The President is "committed to carrying on the 100-year conservation legacy of President Roosevelt," Norton said. Even so, this has failed to convince many conservationists, who contend the rhetoric does not match the reality.

"Conservation principles seem to be lost" on the Bush administration, said Theodore Roosevelt IV, the great grandson of President Teddy Roosevelt.

Critics say the Bush administration's policies on water management in the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges in California and Oregon further reflect its abandonment of the conservation principles upon which the national refuge system was founded.

Some 85 percent of the National Wildlife Refuge System's acreage is in Alaska, including the Nogahabara Sand Dunes in Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo courtesy FWS)

"The 1997 Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act very clearly stated that wildlife, fish and plant conservation come first," said Barry, who oversaw the FWS as Assistant Secretary of Interior during the Clinton administration.

"But this administration is not following this mandate."

In January the administration resurrected of a 137 year old mining law, called the Revised Statute (RS) 2477, which conservationists fear will allow local and state governments to lay claims to thousands of miles of land through public lands, including National Refuges, Parks, Monuments, Forests and Wilderness Areas.

The authority over claims made under RS2447 has been handed over to the Bureau of Land Management, which Barry said is "absolutely the wrong agency to make this decision."

No formal claims have been decided upon under RS2447, but Barry said the rule could allow a range of new roads through critical habitat areas.

This new loophole "threatens these special places and the wildlife they harbor," said Sierra Clube Executive Director Carl Pope. "If the Bush administration moves forward with Arctic drilling and giving away our public lands, the bicentennial of our refuge system will offer little to celebrate."

But the debate over the National Wildlife Refuge System extends to organizations that often join forces on issues.

The Fund for Animals, an animal rights group, filed suit Thursday challenging expansion and introduction of sport hunting by FWS at 39 U.S. national wildlife refuges since 1997. The organization believes FWS failed to fully analyze the environmental impacts of this decision and thereby violated federal law.

"A wildlife refuge, by definition, should be a place where animals are protected, not persecuted," said Michael Markarian, president of The Fund for Animals.

Recreational hunting is "not consistent with the purpose of wildlife refuges," Markarian said.

The nation's first National Wildlife Refuge has shrunk by almost one half due to erosion.) Photo by George Gentry courtesy FWS)

Roosevelt, a self professed hunter, pointed out that the hunters are important partners in the promotion of conservation.

The bigger issue, Roosevelt said, is the lasting legacy of the system his great grandfather began 100 years ago and he returned to the controversy of oil drilling in ANWR.

"Will we have the courage and honor to respect the legacy we inherited? If we open ANWR, we cross the Rubicon in the treatment of our public lands that will be irreversible," he said.

"A little bit of humility on our part is a good thing," Roosevelt said. "Unfortunately this administration does not have that."