A HISTORY OF THE 1997 REFUGE IMPROVEMENT ACT
LOC . GOV ( BOTTOM RIGHT ); COURTESY OF REP . DON YOUNG ( BOTTOM LEFT ); COURTESY OF USFWS ( MIDDLE LEFT , TOP RIGHT , TOP LEFT )
Late 1970s to Early 1990s Animal-rights groups bring repeated lawsuits to end hunting on refuges . Democratic and Republican administrations both successfully defend refuge hunting in court .
1993 Fund for Animals files an anti-hunting lawsuit . Instead of mounting a strong legal defense , the Clinton Administration pursues settlement talks .
1994 The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance ( SA ) and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies ( AFWA ), through their legal counsel , Bill Horn and Paul Lenzini , draft legislation making hunting and fishing “ purposes ” of the refuge system and express legislative determinations that hunting is a legitimate use .
1995 SA and AFWA take the draft to Rep . Don Young ( R-AK ), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee , and then reach out to Rep . John Dingell ( D-MI ), dean of the House , and Rep . Bill Brewster ( D-OK ) to gain bipartisan support . The three become primary sponsors of the bill , which would later garner numerous co-sponsors .
2003 Fund for Animals sues the federal government over expansion of hunting on 39 refuges since passage of the 1997 Refuge Improvement Act , citing the same arguments they ’ re using today : concerns over endangered species and the disturbing of habitat . They lose the case in court . Again .
The more things change , the more they stay the same .
1997 With a new Congress seated and the Clinton Administration still declaring a veto , the bill ’ s co-sponsor and fellow Democrat , John Dingell , tells Clinton that opposing it isn ’ t a good idea . Clinton instructs Secretary Babbitt to negotiate with Rep . Young , who appoints SA legal counsel Bill Horn as lead negotiator for himself and the hunting community .
It takes only a couple of months to hammer out a deal . The key is to drop the “ fishing and hunting are purposes ” language and use “ hunting and fishing are priority public uses ” along with language that says once the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ( USFWS ) determines fishing and hunting are “ compatible ” with refuge conservation , USFWS then has an affirmative duty to “ facilitate ” these activities .
When it becomes evident that a deal is in place , animal-rights organizations try to derail the entire process . Secretary Babbitt excoriates the groups for acting in bad faith . The new bill is drafted and passes the House 407-1 , the lone dissenter being anti-public lands Rep . Ron Paul ( R-TX ).
While this is happening , SA , AFWA and others engineer a deal with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott ( R-MS ) to bypass Sen . Chafee ’ s committee where the bill previously stalled . The Senate then passes the measure by voice vote , sending it to the president ’ s desk .
The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance isn ’ t initially invited to the White House signing ceremony . Secretary Babbitt intervenes , and our legal counsel , Bill Horn , who orchestrated the entire deal , attends on our behalf . ( He still has one of the pens President Clinton used to sign the measure into law .)
1996 The Clinton Administration strongly opposes the bill , and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt informs Congress that the president will veto the bill if passed . That only galvanizes the hunting community , which pushes harder and passes the bill in the House with a veto-proof majority . Unfortunately , the bill stalls in a Senate committee under chairman Sen . John Chafee ( R-RI ).
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