Bill Delahunt: “when President Theodore Roosevelt established the first wildlife refuge in Florida 94 years ago, he could hardly have…”

“when President Theodore Roosevelt established the first wildlife refuge in Florida 94 years ago, he could hardly have imagined a national system of 500 refuges covering 93 million acres. Today, we have another opportunity to make a genuine contribution to this remarkable legacy of wildlife conservation and management. It is in that spirit that I rise today in support of H.R. 1420, the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. The Chairman and Ranking Member have worked together to craft a bill that ensures the future biological integrity of our refuges. Legacies are not historic relics: like the species that inhabit our refuges, they survive only if they prosper and evolve. This bill will help protect species large and small, beautiful and not-so-beautiful, endangered and common alike, and specifically recognizes the benefits that refuges bring to people who live and work near them. The bill explicitly encourages the Interior Department to work with local communities, states and private and non-profit groups. It is precisely such a partnership that has characterized our progress toward one of the newest additions to the refuge system, in Mashpee on Cape Cod, home to over 180 migratory fish and bird species. Like so many others across the country, the Mashpee Refuge has value even beyond its statutory objectives--in this case, in safeguarding the quality and quantity of the area's fragile water resources.”