The Boone and Crockett Club today commended the efforts of acting Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, to use previously appropriated funds to keep 38 National Wildlife Refuges open during the government shut down.
“This is good news, especially for disabled and veteran sportsmen who have hunts planned this month on many of our refuge lands,” said Timothy C. Brady, president of the Boone and Crockett Club. “Many of today’s sportsmen rely on our refuge system for their hunting opportunities. It is great to see our agency leaders stepping up like this.”
Public hunting is allowed as part of the management plans for 370 of the 562 National Wildlife Refuges, which are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The Boone and Crockett Club has had a long history and close relationship with our national refuge system dating back to our founder, Theodore Roosevelt, who established this system for our nation, ” Brady explained. “These well-managed lands and the wildlife they support have benefited people for generations. Acting Secretary Bernhardt has made good on a promise these lands were intended for, and we thank him for that.”
President Theodore Roosevelt designated the first wildlife refuge, Florida’s Pelican Island, in 1903.
About the Boone and Crockett Club
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club is the oldest conservation organization in North America and helped to establish the principles of wildlife and habitat conservation, hunter ethics, as well as many of the institutions, expert agencies, science and funding mechanisms for conservation. Member accomplishments include enlarging and protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Montana. For details, visit www.boone-crockett.org.