Wildlife on Federal Lands

Freyfogle, Eric T.; Goble, Dale D.; Wildermuth, Todd A.

doi:10.5822/978-1-61091-915-9_11

Eric T. Freyfogle,
Dale D. Goble &
Todd A. Wildermuth

517 Accesses

Abstract

Wildlife on federal lands has long drawn considerable attention, and with good reason. The landholdings of the federal government are massive— some 30 percent of the nation’s surface—including vast expanses of vital wildlife habitat. What is the legal status of the wildlife on these lands? Who has the legal authority to manage it? And what are the rules currently in place? These are the questions taken up in this chapter in the context of the four largest categories of federal lands: the wildlife refuges run by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the variously named holdings of the National Park Service, the national forests, and the diverse lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Together these four categories comprise more than 96 percent of all federal landholdings. The wildlife laws applicable to these lands differ among the four categories and thus call for separate consideration. Before exploring them, however, it is useful to understand the basic legal framework that applies on nearly all federal lands.

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Notes

1.
426 U.S. 529 (1976).
2.
National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321, 4331–4335.
3.
Wilderness Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1131–1136.
4.
National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 668dd–668ee.
5.
Migratory Bird Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. § 715d.
6.
Refuge Recreation Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 460k–460k-4.
7.
Act of Aug. 12, 1949, ch. 421, 63 Stat. 599.
8.
Act of Aug. 1, 1958, Pub. L. No. 85-585, 72 Stat. 486.
9.
Act of 1966, Pub. L. No. 89-669 § 4(a), 80 Stat. 926-927.
10.
Act of 1966, Pub. L. No. 89-669 § 4(d), 80 Stat. 928.
11.
Act of 1966, Pub. L. No. 89-669 § 10(a), (b), 80 Stat. 929-930.
12.
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, Pub. L. 105-57, 111 Stat. 1254 (codified into the National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act at 16 U.S.C. §§ 668dd–668ee).
13.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(a)(2).
14.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(a)(4)(B).
15.
66 Fed. Reg. 3810 (Jan. 16, 2001).
16.
Provisions specific to individual refuges are found in various provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations, available online.
17.
Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-567, § 2, 78 Stat. 850.
18.
Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-567, § 2, 78 Stat. 850.
19.
Exec. Order No. 8039, 4 Fed. Reg. 438 (Jan. 25, 1939).
20.
Act to Provide for the Transfer of Certain Lands to the Secretary of the Interior and for Other Purposes, Pub. L. No. 80-361, 61 Stat. 770 (1947) (codified at 16 U.S.C. § 666g).
21.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd.
22.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(a)(3)(B).
23.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(a)(3)(C), 668dd(a)(4)(J).
24.
50 C.F.R. § 25.12.
25.
50 C.F.R. § 32.1.
26.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(e).
27.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(e).
28.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(e).
29.
See generally 50 C.F.R. § 32.3.
30.
Moore v. Kempthorne, 464 F. Supp. 2d 519 (E.D. Va. 2006).
31.
Niobrara River Ranch, L.L.C. v. Huber, 373 F.3d 881 (8th Cir. 2004).
32.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(m).
33.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(m).
34.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(e)(1)(iii).
35.
18 U.S.C. § 41.
36.
18 U.S.C. § 41.
37.
18 U.S.C. § 41.
38.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(c).
39.
16 U.S.C. § 668ee(7).
40.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(f ).
41.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(c).
42.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(l).
43.
Wyoming v. Livingston, 443 F.3d 1211 (10th Cir. 2006).
44.
This issue is explored in Eric T. Freyfogle, The Wildlife Refuge and the Land Community, 44 Nat. Resources J. 1027 (2004).
45.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(a)(2).
46.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(a)(4)(B).
47.
16 U.S.C. § 668dd(a)(4)(C).
48.
66 Fed. Reg. 3810, 3818 (Jan. 16, 2001).
49.
66 Fed. Reg. 3810, 3818 (Jan. 16, 2001).
50.
66 Fed. Reg. 3810, 3818 (Jan. 16, 2001).
51.
66 Fed. Reg. 3810, 3818 (Jan. 16, 2001).
52.
54 U.S.C. § 100101. This 1916 charter was moved from Title 16 of the United States Code, Section 1, to its current location in the U.S. Code in 2014.
53.
54 U.S.C. § 100101(a). This 1916 charter was moved from Title 16 of the United States Code, Section 1, to its current location in the U.S. Code in 2014.
54.
The issue is carefully reviewed in Martin Nie, et al., Fish and Wildlife Management on Federal Lands: Debunking State Supremacy, 47 Envtl. L. 797, 848–851 (2017).
55.
36 C.F.R. § 2.2.
56.
Alaska Wildlife Alliance v. Jensen, 108 F.3d 1065 (9th Cir. 1997).
57.
36 C.F.R. § 2.2.
58.
Jessica Almy, Note, Taking Aim at Hunting on National Park Service Lands, 18 N.Y.U. Envtl. L.J. 184, 185 (2010).
59.
National Rifle Ass’n of America v. Potter, 628 F. Supp. 903 (D.D.C. 1986).
60.
Michigan United Conservation Clubs v. Lujan, 949 F.2d 202 (6th Cir. 1991).
61.
Thomas Ryder, ed., State Wildlife Management and Conservation (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018), p. 47.
62.
54 U.S.C. § 100101.
63.
National Wildlife Federation v. Nat’l Park Serv., 669 F. Supp. 384 (D. Wyo. 1987).
64.
Conservation Law Found. v. Clark, 590 F. Supp. 1467 (D. Mass. 1984), aff’d, 864 F.2d 954 (1st Cir. 1989).
65.
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Nat’l Park Serv., 387 F. Supp. 2d 1178 (D. Utah 2005).
66.
16 U.S.C. § 475.
67.
16 U.S.C. § 528-531.
68.
16 U.S.C. § 531(a).
69.
16 U.S.C. § 531(a).
70.
16 U.S.C. § 529.
71.
16 U.S.C. § 530.
72.
16 U.S.C. § 528.
73.
E.g., Wyoming v. U.S. Dep’t of Agric., 661 F.3d 1209, 1269 (10th Cir. 2011).
74.
National Forest Management Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1600–1616.
75.
National Forest Management Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1604(b).
76.
National Forest Management Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1604(g)(3)(B).
77.
Now repealed, the provisions appeared at 36 C.F.R. §§ 219.12, 219.19, and 291.26.
78.
Now repealed, the provisions appeared at 36 C.F.R. §§ 219.19.
79.
Now repealed, the provisions appeared at 36 C.F.R. §§ 219.19.
80.
Now repealed, the provisions appeared at 36 C.F.R. §§ 219.27(g).
81.
70 Fed. Reg. 1023 (Jan. 5, 2005).
82.
70 Fed. Reg. 1024 (Jan. 5, 2005).
83.
National Forest System Land Management Planning, 77 Fed. Reg. 21,162 (Apr. 9, 2012).
84.
36 C.F.R. § 219.8(a)(1).
85.
36 C.F.R. § 219.8(a)(2).
86.
36 C.F.R. § 219.8(b).
87.
36 C.F.R. § 219.9(a).
88.
36 C.F.R. § 219.9(a).
89.
36 C.F.R. § 219(b).
90.
36 C.F.R. § 219(b).
91.
36 C.F.R. § 219.2(b)(2).
92.
16 U.S.C. § 1604(g)(3)(F).
93.
16 U.S.C. § 1604(g)(3)(E).
94.
The topics covered quickly in this paragraph are considered in Martin Nie, et al., Fish and Wildlife Management on Federal Lands: Debunking State Supremacy, 47 Envtl. L. 797, 864–868 (2017).
95.
Codified as amended at 43 U.S.C. §§ 315–315r.
96.
Codified as amended at 43 U.S.C. §§ 315a.
97.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 43 U.S.C. §§ 1701–1784.
98.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 43 U.S.C. §§ 1702(c).
99.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 43 U.S.C. §§ 1712(c)(3), 1702(a).
100.
Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1331–1340.
101.
Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1333(a).
102.
Wyoming v. United States, No. 14-CV-0248, 2015 WL 12916334 (D. Wyo. 2015).
103.
43 U.S.C. § 1702(a), 1712(c)(3).
104.
43 C.F.R. § 4180.1.
105.
Internal agency guidance on the issue is discussed in Martin Nie, et al., Fish and Wildlife Management on Federal Lands: Debunking State Supremacy, 47 Envtl. L. 797, 871–872 (2017).
106.
16 U.S.C. § 670g.
107.
16 U.S.C. § 670g.
108.
16 U.S.C. § 670k(6).
109.
16 U.S.C. § 670k(6).
110.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1732(b).
111.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1732(b).
112.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1732(b).
113.
43 C.F.R. § 24.1(b).

Authors

Eric T. Freyfogle
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Dale D. Goble
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Todd A. Wildermuth
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Freyfogle, E., Goble, D.D., Wildermuth, T.A. (2019). Wildlife on Federal Lands. In: Wildlife Law. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-915-9_11

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-915-9_11
Publisher Name: Island Press, Washington, DC
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