Number: 1978-31
WHEREAS, the Upper Mississippi River Wild Life and Fish Refuge was established to provide needed habitat for migratory waterfowl as well as important fishery resources; and
WHEREAS, efforts in 1974 to designate large areas of the Refuge and lands owned by the Army Corps of Engineers as wilderness were opposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior, President Ford, the Congress and four State Affiliates of the National Wildlife Federation bordering the refuge on grounds that the property is unsuitable for wilderness and such designation would pose a threat to the proper management of fish and wildlife habitat; and
WHEREAS, the Congress has established the Great River Environmental Action Team (GREAT) and ordered it and cooperating state agencies to conduct detailed studies of the river’s ecosystems and its changing role, with recommendations scheduled for completion in 1981; and
WHEREAS, any change in the classification and use of the Refuge and Corps of Engineers lands prior to the completion of the GREAT effort would be premature;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 16-19, 1978 in Phoenix, Ariz., hereby expresses its opposition to designation of lands in the Upper Mississippi River Wild Life and Fish Refuge as wilderness.