Judge Bans Refuge Hunting

From the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance
On August 31st, U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina handed down a decision that likely will outlaw hunting on 37 units of the 100-million acre National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) System. Included in the 37 units named in the 2003 lawsuit brought by the Fund for Animals, (which has since merged with the Humane Society of the United States), are the McNary NWR located near Burbank, WA and the Julia Butler Hansen NWR near Cathlamet, WA. Preliminary indications are that the decision will require the USF&W to perform costly and lengthy studies on the environmental impact of hunting on the entire refuge system before it can expand hunting opportunities on any refuge. The Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) is urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&W) to appeal the decision. The USF&W already studies the impact of hunting on refuges through the required refuge plans it completes as well as national migratory bird studies. Adding more studies only succeeds in miring down the process so that no one will be able to hunt on refuges. The decision also runs contrary to current law. According to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA), in 1966, and again in 1997, Congress expressly recognized the legitimacy of hunting on units of the refuge system and directed the USF&W to facilitate and increase these opportunities whenever they are determined to be compatible. The USSA, which manages the SLDF, will seek redress from Congress on this decision which seems to run directly against the previous directives of the Congress. The SLDF collaborated as defendant interveners in the case with Safari Club International, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, Izaak Walton League and the California Waterfowl Association. The SLDF is the nation’s only litigation force that exclusively represents sportsmen’s interests in the courts. It defends wildlife management and sportsmen’s rights in local, state and federal courts. In addition, the SLDF assists government lawyers who have little or no background in wildlife law.