President Bush Opening More Inroads For Hunters

FREE HUNTER NEWS

WASHINGTON

Hail To The Chief!
President Bush Opening More Inroads For Hunters

The Bush Administration has announced plans to open new hunting and fishing programs on 10 national wildlife refuges and wetland management districts in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Carolina and South Dakota as part of its annual Refuge-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations.

With the changes in this proposed rule, there will be 325 public hunting programs and 283 public fishing programs on national wildlife refuges.

“With this proposal, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will have launched over 60 new hunting and fishing programs on national wildlife refuges since 2001, enhancing access and opportunity for millions of Americans to enjoy their favorite outdoor traditions,” said Steve Williams, usfws director.

The service is proposing to add the following refuges and wetland management districts (WMD) to the agency’s list of units open for hunting and/or fishing: Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in South Carolina; Mountain Longleaf NWR in Alabama; Red River NWR in Louisiana; Cypress Creek NWR in Illinois; Huron, Lake Andes, Madison, Sand Lake, Waubay WMDs in South Dakota; and Devils Lake WMD in North Dakota.

In addition, the service is also proposing to expand recreational hunting and fishing opportunities on seven refuges in Nebraska, Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina.

In 2003, there were 2.2 million hunting visits to national wildlife refuges and 6.6 million fishing visits. By law, hunting and fishing are two of the six priority wildlife-dependent recreational uses on national wildlife refuges.