John Dingell: “It's always been my understanding that these records should be as clean as possible.”

These refuges are treasures, to be enjoyed by millions of people every year who want to hunt, fish, or just enjoy the outdoors.

Establishment of a refuge does not instantly make the Federal Government a steward of an area of land.

It is a very happy system. It works well. And it has had no controversy that I can recall except one instance.

The goal Congress set then was unparalleled in all of history. Our country resolved to put an end to the decades--indeed, centuries--of neglect that had resulted in the extinction of the passenger pigeon and the Carolina parakeet, and the…