The issue: We currently have a National Refuge system operating under uniform management and priorities. Over the last 100 years, this system has developed standards that always put wildlife first. No other country has anything like it. The NBR itself has become a leader in the nation for its biological weed control and an independent survey from the University of Idaho indicated a very high visitor satisfaction rate.

This proposal to transfer management from the United States Fish and Wildlife System to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will remove the NBR from the uniform system. Transferring management of various FWS programs to other entities will produce a checkerboard system with varying administrative priorities. It also sets precedence for all Service policy regarding future tribal agreements on Service lands.

On April 8^th, The Refugekeeper for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) wrote Honorable Senator Conrad Burns and stated, "This issue is not even one of whether the CSKT could or should have management responsibility for NBR and its affiliates. Rather, it is more a question of the establishment of far-reaching precedents for the fragmentation and eventual dissolution of the rich history and legacy of the (National Wildlife Refuge System) NWRS as we know it today…The NWRS represents a legacy of wildlife habitats unlike anything seen on our planet. The NBR complex is one of the crown jewels of the system, and is emblematic of our nation’s turn from waste and non-conservation of many species of plants and animals…You and your other elected federal colleagues in Montana…are truly at a decisional crossroads where we believe the long-term welfare and integrity of the NWRS lies in the balance. Because of the precedent setting nature of your decisions, your handling of this complex issue will have a major impact upon the sort of NWRS that is passed on to Montanans and the nation as a whole. Consequently, we sincerely ask you to view this issue, and similar ones, from the larger perspective of a truly national system of wildlife refuges. It would be helpful and statesmanlike if you and other elected officials were to appeal to officials in the Office of the Secretary of Interior to withdraw these proposals, and all work together to maintain and strengthen the functional integrity and mission of the NWRS."

Many tribal communities have done great jobs at various tasks. However, in matters of national assets, tribal government is too centralized. Not only is there little separation of powers, but many administrative decisions are made at council level, not department level. In other words, the tribal council would make the refuge decisions, not the tribal biologists. But the council, having responsibility for the tribal economy and other matters, is stretched in its efforts to prioritize. Unlike the FWS, wildlife won’t always be on the top of the list. This is where the difference in systems will become noticeable.

In addition, the National Wildlife Refuge system is currently an Equal Opportunity employer. Under tribal management, Tribal preference in hiring will be used. Although the CSKT Tribal Chairman has recently stated that current employees will be allowed to stay, he has also admitted that future hiring will be tribal preference. Racial discrimination in hiring will occur on federal land with federal dollars. A month ago, Affirmative Action was challenged in our Supreme Court, with the White House arguing that the system used by the University of Michigan perpetuates stereotype by creating "a separate path and a separate door for preferred minorities." Our nation values Equality, and our National Refuge System should remain an open and equal working opportunity for all people.

National Bison Range