Maria Finn Dominguez

At the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, the sun dapples through the canopy of oak trees, and the forest opens to a grassy knoll that runs down to the Carmans River. In the distance, a commuter train heading to New York City whistles. This refuge is part of the Atlantic Flyway, and during migration, osprey and hawks arrive on the down winds, sandpipers take to the shorelines, and geese, mergansers, and wood ducks make their way to the river and marsh lands. At 2,550 acres, Wertheim is the largest of the 11 national wildlife refuges scattered across Long Island to preserve shoreline and wetlands for migrating birds and other species.

Claire Goad, president of Friends of Wertheim, explained that her association works closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the refuge and to make it more accessible to people. This includes fighting a Home Depot proposed along the refuge border, as well as organizing canoe trips and other programs to bring in the surrounding community. “Money in the federal budget is low,” Goad said, “so we can help pick up the slack by repairing trails and taking on other projects. As well, we want to let the community know what’s there and how beautiful it is. When people get to know the refuge, they contact me and would like to help.”

There are 545 national wildlife refuges, located in every state and ranging from half an acre (Mille Lacs, in Minnesota) to 19.6 million acres (Arctic, in Alaska). President Theodore Roosevelt created the first of these sanctuaries at Florida’s Pelican Island in 1903, but it was not until 1997 that Congress clearly spelled out the purposes of the refuges. The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act declared that the system’s top priority is wildlife conservation. That may have seemed obvious, but too many refuges were permitting commercial and recreational uses that were at odds with this goal. The 1997 act required each refuge to create a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) to determine management priorities for the next 15 years. Public input must be part of the process. For example, citizens can say whether refuge managers should allow motorized vehicles, hunting and fishing, or other types of recreational or commercial use.

“We felt strongly that this was a latent need,” recalled Bill Reffalt, who played a major role in shaping the 1997 proposal before retiring from The Wilderness Society. “In the 1960s refuges seldom consulted with the public,” he said. “But this is a big benefit to the public and to refuges.” According to Reffalt, who was director of the Refuge System under President Jimmy Carter, “The System won’t be a system until it is planned and operated as such. Individual refuges need plans to guide management, to get ahead of compatibility problems, and to help communicate refuge needs, intentions, and goals to the public and supporting conservation organizations.”

Another vital CCP component is a recommendation identifying lands pristine enough to warrant addition to the National Wilderness Preservation System—and thus permanent protection. Tom Bonetti of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explained, “The criteria include opportunities for solitude, but by definition wilderness is roadless areas of 5,000 or more acres, and roadless islands regardless of their size.”

East Coast refuges have a limited amount of acreage that can be designated as wilderness areas. In contrast, Alaska has 16 refuges, accounting for more than 80 percent of all land in the system—and thus millions of acres with wilderness qualities. However, wilderness reviews and recommendations have not been part of the CCP revision process under Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

“There is an anti-wilderness agenda on the part of the Republican leadership, both federal and local,” said Nicole Whittington Evans, The Wilderness Society’s associate regional director for Alaska. “Wilderness is the only land use designation that doesn’t allow roads, oil, gas, and mineral entry, unless claims were made prior to being declared wilderness. It can also help curtail the use of motorized vehicles. This administration’s anti-wilderness stance doesn’t bode well for conservation.”

One place where the administration’s approach could spell trouble is Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Alaska, which provides habitat for bears, moose, lynx, 160 bird species, and other wildlife. According to Rob Campellone, Kenai’s planning team leader, a 1988 refuge plan recommended that 195,000 acres be added to the Wilderness System, but that proposal is unlikely to move forward during this administration.

Another issue at Kenai is energy development. “There are three oil and gas units, and two are in production,” Campellone explained. “The public is interested in whether those areas would be converted to a variety of uses, such as be opened to motorized vehicles and bicycles. The other major public concern is crowding on the Kenai River during salmon season.” He believes they will have a draft plan for public review by early 2006.

A continent away, along Florida’s east coast, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge protects endangered wood storks and manatees, and alligators fill the waterways that create a maze through orange groves. Rockets launch from the nearby NASA facility, and the sound of construction in the surrounding areas is omnipresent. This refuge is on property owned first by the U.S. Air Force and then by NASA. In the 1940s, it was ditched for mosquito control, so no part of the 142,000 acres can be added to the Wilderness System. When Merritt Island sought public comment on its initial CCP, 1,500 comments cascaded in from 49 states and 11 foreign nations.

“The comments ranged from ‘don’t change a thing’ to ‘change everything,’” said Cheri Ehrhardt, the refuge’s natural resource planner. “We review them all and take them into consideration while drafting a CCP plan, but they aren’t a popular vote.” According to Fish and Wildlife Service estimates, in the four counties around the refuge there are two million people, and by the end of the 15-year plan, another million are expected. There are 650,000 refuge visitors per year. “We need to find balance between visitors and wildlife. A lot of endangered species rely on us,” said Ehrhardt.

Is the CCP process working? “By and large, yes,” says Evan Hirsche, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a private outfit specializing in refuge issues. Unfortunately, the CCP process is far behind schedule, and the Fish and Wildlife Service has acknowledged that it will not be possible to meet the deadline set by Congress: initial plans for all refuges by 2012. Once they are completed, Congress must provide the money needed to implement them; otherwise the plans will simply gather dust.

“The CCPs have tremendous potential to improve wildlife protection across the country,” says Leslie Catherwood, who oversees wildlife refuge work for The Wilderness Society. “Whether that potential is met will depend significantly on whether the public is a part of the process, as envisioned by the 1997 act. Fully engaged citizens can counteract pressure from economic interests and can press Congress to fulfill its obligations to the Refuge System. One of The Wilderness Society’s goals is to get the word out to the American people that these refuges belong to all of us and need our input.”

Maria Finn Dominguez, who lives in New York, is editor of the anthology Cuba in Mind and the forthcoming Mexico in Mind. She is writing a memoir about meeting her husband in Cuba, for Algonquin Books.