1. This document is contained within the Fish and Wildlife Management Toolbox on Wilderness.net. Since other related resources found in this toolbox may be of interest, you can visit this toolbox by visiting the following URL: http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=toolbo xes&sec=fishwildlifemgmt. All toolboxes are products of the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center.

2. Managing Fish and Wildlife in Wilderness Peter Landres Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Is there a problem? Is there a question about state versus federal authority? What have the courts said? Has IAFWA helped?

3. CONTEXT: What is Wilderness? From the 1964 Wilderness Act, wilderness is: “Untrammeled” (uncontrolled, not manipulated) “Natural” (“primeval character and influence”) “Undeveloped” (evidence of people is “substantially unnoticeable”) “Outstanding opportunities” for wilderness experiences (“solitude” or “primitive recreation”) Wilderness is managed: “for the use and enjoyment…as wilderness” Wilderness is managed for ecological and social values

4. Arctic Wild, Crisler 1958 “Great wilderness has two characteristics: remoteness and the presence of wild animals in something like pristine variety and numbers.” Wilderness and the American Mind, Nash 1967 “Etymologically, the term means ‘wild-dêor-ness,’ the place of wild beasts.” Wildlife in Wilderness, Hendee and Schoenfeld, 1990 “Wilderness without wildlife and wildlife without the freedom of wilderness are virtually unthinkable, their interdependency is so firmly established in our minds.” CONTEXT: Wildlife and Wilderness

5. CONTEXT: Need to Manage Wildlife Increasing use of all types Increasing region-wide threats and development on adjacent lands Increasing disruption of ecological processes and loss of species

6. Conflict over appropriate wildlife management activities --vehicles, surveys, tagging, marking, installations, modifying habitat, introducing non-native species Aerial stocking a wilderness lakeSpraying rotenone in a wilderness lake Is There a Problem Managing Wildlife in Wilderness?

7. Conflict between state and federal management goals -- sport versus other wildlife values Fish stocking impacts on Mountain Yellow-Legged frogs Stocking lakes with sport fish

8. Is There a Problem Managing Wildlife in Wilderness? Conflict between state and federal management goals -- sport versus wilderness values Fishless, unmanipulated lake ecosystemsRecreational fishing opportunities

9. Is There a Problem Managing Wildlife in Wilderness?

12. What does Research Say About Impacts from Stocking Fish? Research has clearly shown: Significant declines of native fish Significant declines of amphibians and salamanders Significant changes in phytoplankton, zooplankton, and invertebrates Significant changes in nutrient processes

13. Frog abundance in fishless lakes is also reduced by introduced trout

14. 0.51 Kilometers Breeding Sites Summer Habitats Overwintering Sites In the Big Horn Crags, Introduced Fish Occupy Most Overwintering Sites

15. Conflict Between State Wildlife and Federal Wilderness Managers Examples Refusal to coordinate planned activities Refusal to cooperate or share data Lack of professionalism (us versus them) Lack of respect Stalling and stonewalling Intentional damage Litigation

16. Reasons for This Conflict Between State and Federal Managers Differing agency mandates, policies, missions, cultures Arizona Game and Fish Department “To conserve, enhance, and restore Arizona’s diverse wildlife resources and habitat through aggressive protection and management programs …” (Mission Statement) Forest Service Policy “where a choice must be made between wilderness values…or any other activity, preserving the wilderness resource is the overriding value. Economy, convenience, commercial value, and comfort are not standards of management or use of wilderness.” (FSM Section 2320.6)

17. Reasons for This Conflict Between State and Federal Managers Ambiguity, differences in interpreting federal laws “Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the several States with respect to wildlife and fish in the national forests.” “except as necessary to meet the minimum requirements for the administration of the area…there shall be no temporary roads, no use of motor vehicles…no structure or installation” 1964 Wilderness Act “Management activities to maintain or restore fish and wildlife populations…shall include the use of motorized vehicles by the appropriate State agencies.” 1994 California Desert Protection Act

18. State versus Federal Authority States assert their authority under the 10 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Police Powers: “The powers not delegated to the United States…are reserved to the states…” Federal agencies assert their authority under four different Constitutional Clauses -- Property: power to govern property -- Treaty: power to engage in treaties -- Commerce: power to regulate interstate commerce -- Supremacy: federal law governs if there is conflict

19. Judicial Interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court 1896 -- Geer v. Connecticut State authority preempts federal management of wildlife, and that “the right to preserve game flows from the undoubted existence in the State of a Police Power.”

20. 1896 -- Geer v. Connecticut 1920 -- Missouri v. Holland Upheld federal use of the Treaty Clause (the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act) and Supremacy Clause that federal law supercedes conflicting state law Judicial Interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court

21. 1896 -- Geer v. Connecticut 1920 -- Missouri v. Holland 1928 -- Hunt v. United States Upheld federal use of Property Clause to protect public land from resident wildlife (deer on the Kaibab NF) Judicial Interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court

22. 1896 -- Geer v. Connecticut 1920 -- Missouri v. Holland 1928 -- Hunt v. United States 1976 -- Kleppe v. New Mexico Upheld federal use of Property and Supremacy clauses to manage wildlife (burros), and that federal management of wildlife not limited to just protecting public land from damage as stated in Hunt v. United States Judicial Interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court

23. 1896 -- Geer v. Connecticut 1920 -- Missouri v. Holland 1928 -- Hunt v. United States 1976 -- Kleppe v. New Mexico 1979 -- Hughes v. Oklahoma Upheld federal use of Commerce Clause to manage wildlife, and that “Geer v. Connecticut was decided relatively early…we hold that time has revealed the error of the early resolution reached in that case, and accordingly Geer is today overruled.” Judicial Interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court

24. Agreement with the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Agreement between the FS and BLM with IAFWA “Policies and Guidelines for Fish and Wildlife Management in Wilderness and Primitive Areas” -- approved as FS and BLM policy in 1976 -- substantially revised in 1986 -- reaffirmed by the FS in 1995

25. Topics covered in the IAFWA Agreement Fish and Wildlife research Facility development and habitat alteration Endangered and threatened species Fisheries management Wildlife management Visitor management Establishes non-binding guidelines that “should serve as a framework for cooperation” between state and federal agencies IAFWA Agreement

26. Defines “indigenous” as “species of fish traditionally stocked before wilderness designation...if the species is likely to survive” IAFWA Agreement A Few Problems No plan for resolving conflicts and differences of opinion Vague language (“preserve the natural character,” “may be permitted,” “identified in the wilderness management plan,” “standard techniques of population sampling,” “mutual agreement”)

27. Status of the IAFWA Agreement November 2000 – reaffirmation by FS and BLM followed by formal review of successes and failures March 2002 – proposed revision by FS and BLM Fisheries Program leaders (DOA to wilderness) February 2003 – proposed addendum by FS,BLM, some states (DOA to IAFWA) Currently, unknown what will happen next or how known problems will be resolved

28. Resolving These Conflicts Over Managing Wildlife in Wilderness Provide understanding about science, legislation, and judicial decisions that lets each side know their respective responsibilities and limits Legislation – does not give state agencies sole authority for managing wildlife in wilderness; doesn’t resolve anything Supreme Court decisions (5) – clearly support federal involvement in wildlife management decisions and activities Science – clear and wide-ranging impacts to wilderness values from some wildlife management activities

29. The Bottom Line: State and Federal agencies share authority for managing wildlife, therefore they must cooperate, communicate, and coordinate to sustain both wildlife and wilderness

30. An Example of Working Together Natural rockfall in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness, CA blocked listed summer steelhead migration to spawning grounds After clearing the rockfall