The National Wildlife Refuges: Coordinating a Conservation System through Law
Robert L. Fischman (Island Press 2003)

Stephanie Showalter, J.D., M.S.E.L.

Written for a broad audience of policy-makers, students, lawyers, and users, The National Wildlife Refuges: Coordinating a Conservation System through Law contains a comprehensive overview of the law that governs the management of wildlife refuges. While the majority of readers are unlikely to benefit from a cover to cover read, the wealth of information available in this compact source is essential for anyone connected to wildlife refuges.

For lawyers and law students interested in the inner workings of the national wildlife refuge system, The National Wildlife Refuges analyzes, in detail, how the 1997 Improvement Act manifests what Fischman calls “the five hallmarks of organic legislation”: purpose statements, designated uses, comprehensive planning, substantive management criteria, and public participation. The National Wildlife Refuges provides private citizens interested in their refuges with a guide to how and when opportunities are present for public participation in refuge management decisions – from pre-decisional opportunities to administrative and judicial review. More importantly for future research and policy efforts, throughout the book Fischman identifies and analyzes the weaknesses in current FWS policy.

Fischman also covers some of the more obscure aspects of wildlife refuge management, including acquisition of water rights and oil and gas development. Many wildlife refuges in the west encounter management problems during dry years. For example, the Klamath Basin refuges are ranked fourth in the order of priority for water from the Klamath River, behind endangered species, tribal trust responsibilities, and farmers. A 1994 survey revealed only 98 out of 226 western refuges responding had adequate existing water rights even in average years. Fischman examines the duty of the Fish and Wildlife Service, established in the 1997 Improvement Act, to acquire water rights needed for refuge purposes.

Finally, an entire chapter is devoted to the Alaska Refuges. The debate over oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is not the only issue unique to wildlife refuges in Alaska. While refuge system laws and regulations apply equally to the Alaska refuges, special rules apply in certain areas. Fischman discusses the Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act, ANWR, and subsistence hunting and fishing allowances for rural Alaskan residents, which are provided nowhere else in the System.

Fischman’s choice to reduce internal citations and footnotes increases the readability and accessibility of The National Wildlife Refuges. Numerous references to the legislative history of the various acts and internal agency documents provide glimpses of the driving forces behind the System’s evolution. The appendices alone are worth the purchase. Fischman provides a chronology of refuge system development, the text of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 and the National Wildlife Improvement Act of 1997, and the official establishment dates for the 540 named national wildlife refuges in existence as of September 30, 2002. As Fischman’s book arrived on my desk during a particularly trying period of research on coastal wildlife refuges, I can personally vouch for the utility of these appendices. This comprehensive and extensively researched book should be the entry point for anyone with a question regarding the governance of wildlife refuges.

Robert L. Fischman is professor at law and Louis F. Niezer Faculty Fellow at Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington.