George Miller: “I would certainly support improvement of the National Wildlife Refuge System if it really needed it, but it does not.…”

“I would certainly support improvement of the National Wildlife Refuge System if it really needed it, but it does not. Much of the momentum behind this bill has been generated by sporting groups that seek to elevate the role of hunting and fishing off our National Wildlife Refuges. Now, the plain truth is that hunting and fishing are already allowed on more than half of the 508 wildlife refuges and on more than 94 percent of the 92 million acres of the System. I respectfully submit that is a lot of hunting and fishing. Moreover, President Clinton, far from closing refuges to hunting and fishing, on March 25 issued an Executive order reaffirming the administration's commitment to a diversity of recreation of refuge lands so long as it is compatible with the longstanding primary purpose of the Refuge System--fish and wildlife conservation. Some were fearful that the administration's settlement of a lawsuit regarding the compatibility of secondary uses of the refuges would result in restrictions on sporting activities. After reviewing more than 1,000 activities throughout the System, not one wildlife refuge was closed to hunting. In fact, the Clinton administration has opened more refuges to hunting and fishing in its first 2 years than did the Bush administration during its last 2 years. So, this legislation attempts to fix a problem that does not exist.”