Home > Major Acts of Congress > National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (1966)

Richard Finkmoore

United States wildlife refuges are one of several systems of federally owned land, including the national forests and the national parks. The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (1966, P.L. 89-669, 80 Stat. 927) establishes the mission of the refuge system, provides guidance to the U.S. secretary of the interior on refuge management, requires refuge planning, and gives refuge managers directions for making decisions about proper uses of the refuges. As of January 1, 2003, the refuge system comprised more than 95 million acres in 538 refuges and over 3,000 small waterfowl breeding and nesting areas. National wildlife refuges are located in all fifty states and several U.S. possessions. Because almost all refuge lands are owned by the federal government, constitutional authority for the Refuge Administration Act is found in the property clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article IV, section 3). This clause provides that Congress has the power to make "all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States...."

BACKGROUND

America's first refuge was created in 1903 when President Theodore Roosevelt set aside Pelican Island in Florida to protect herons and egrets from overhunting. During the next several decades, other presidents and Congress established scores of refuges, many as "inviolate sanctuaries" where wildlife could not be hunted or otherwise disturbed. Refuges were established for a variety of purposes, in some instances to protect a single species, in others to protect particular groups of animals, and sometimes for very general purposes. Many refuges were created to conserve migratory waterfowl, and in the mid-1900s a significant number of refuges were opened to hunting. Because refuges were established without any overall strategy, but rather as needs and opportunities presented themselves, the refuges became a diverse and rather haphazard collection of lands.

The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act was enacted to create a system from this loose network of refuges. The act consolidated the refuges under the jurisdiction of the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service. The act also permitted any uses of refuge lands that were "compatible" with the purposes of individual refuges.

AMENDMENTS TO THE ACT

Under the 1966 statute, many refuges suffered from numerous uses that were harmful to wildlife, such as farming, livestock grazing, recreational activities, and in many instances even oil and gas production and military training exercises. Environmentalists and others urged that the refuges be given greater protection from such abuses and that conservation of the nation's wildlife be declared the first priority of the refuge system. At the same time, some hunting groups sought greater access to more refuges.

Congress responded in 1997 by passing the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, which made significant amendments to the 1966 act. Section 4 of the 1997 act sets forth for the first time one mission for all refuges: "to administer a national network of lands for the conservation, management, and ... restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of future generations." The act also establishes a hierarchy of uses allowed on refuges. The dominant use is wildlife conservation, and priority public uses are recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, and environmental education. Uses that are "compatible" with wildlife conservation are still permitted on refuges, but the act specifies standards and procedures intended to prevent uses that are harmful to wildlife. Finally, the 1997 legislation requires the secretary of the interior to prepare comprehensive conservation plans for all refuges through a process that ensures public participation.

See also: FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT ACT; NATIONAL FOREST MANAGEMENT ACT.