Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced they have prepared a draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) regarding the potential use of genetically engineered crops on national wildlife refuges in the Southeastern United States and are seeking public comments.
The National Wildlife Refuge System often enters into cooperative agriculture agreements with farmers and agriculture producers in order to help achieve wildlife management objectives on National Wildlife Refuge lands and waters. Cooperative agriculture is a management option used on a case-by-case basis on refuges where FWS cannot meet its resource management objectives through regular maintenance or mimicking of natural ecosystem processes.
In July 2014, the National Wildlife Refuge System announced they would phase out the usage of certain agricultural practices, including the use of genetically modified organism (GMO) crops. However, the Service announced in 2018 they would update this limitation and provide flexibility to refuge managers to use GMOs where appropriate.
In 2018, CSF urged Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Members to join a letter led by CSC Member Rep. Ralph Abraham (LA) to then Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke in support of allowing cooperative agriculture agreements to use GMO crops within the National Wildlife Refuge System. CSF will continue to work with the Administration and Congress to ensure GMO crops are an allowable conservation tool within the Refuge System.
The public comment period ends on April 10, 2020.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
