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| Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon |
More hunting and fishing will be available for sportsmen and women under new rules from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
About 132,000 acres on 10 national wildlife refuges will be opened or expanded. Having more hunting and fishing available has been a concentrated effort by the wildlife service.
“The nation’s sportsmen and women lead the conservation of wildlife and their habitats throughout our nation. They are passionate about the outdoors and are committed to sustainably managing these resources for all Americans to enjoy. Refuges provide all Americans with places to hunt, fish, observe the natural world firsthand and experience the great outdoors,” said Service Principal Deputy Director Greg Sheehan in a news release.
The public may now hunt on 373 refuges and fish on up to 311 refuges. The 10 refuges receiving expansion or more recreation activities are located in Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wisconsin.
The wildlife service is trying to push six types of activity at the parks. Those include hunting, fishing, wildlife photography, environmental education and interpretation.
These six activities are the focus of the National Wildlife Refuge System Act of 1997. Each wildlife refuge must submit a 15-year plan and have an approved mission and plan.
The Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon has opened up sport fishing to the public for the first time.
“The fishing opportunities are limited ,and this will open more opportunities to the public for better shoreline fishing along the Siletz River” said Kelly Morony, Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge park manager.
Not everyone is in favor of the new ruling by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“I think places should exist without hunting for the safety of the wildlife,” said Janet Cobb, executive officer of California Wildlife Foundation. “People need to be more mindful that we are not the only species on the planet.”
According to Cobb, this could be a continuing trend at wildlife refuges unless individuals get in contact with their elected officials.
More than 101.6 million Americans take part in wildlife-related recreation, and this ruling will allow more of those activities to happen.
“It will allow the public to use the land that is available to them for more opportunities to hunt,” said Frank Durbian project leader of the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge Frank.
With the new ruling, the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota has opened hunting of moose and turkey for the first time.
“The public was interested making this available to them and provides a different hunting style” Durbian said.
According to Cobb, this could be a continuing trend at wildlife refuges unless individuals get in contact with their elected officials.
National wildlife refuges support habitat for thousands of animal species and contribute about $2.4 billion to regional economies.
According to the Service’s National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities contribute over $156.3 billion in economic activity in the United States.
-- By Noah Enns