President’s Message ~ Tim Armstrong

Overall, 2003 was a good year for the National Wildlife Refuge System. The number of Refuge Support (Friends) Groups increased to nearly 250. The House and Senate approved a $23.9 million increase for operations and maintenance, raising the refuge system’s budget from approximately $367 million to $391 million. Given the tight federal budget situation, this increase was a tremendous victory for the Refuge System. We will continue to work with our elected representatives to obtain and maintain the funding necessary to reduce the budget shortfalls that have plagued the system historically. The Interior Appropriations committee approved $7 million for land acquisition for the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, which was the largest acquisition within the refuge system. Locally, the Alamosa refuge completed the acquisition of the Lillpop ranch, which added over 850 acres to the refuge, including nearly 3 miles of riparian habitat along the Rio Grande River.

In spite of these successes, the refuge system continues to face many challenges. Locally, the San Luis Valley weathered another year of severe drought. Nationally, the biggest challenge may be a precedent-setting proposal that would turn over the management of several National Wildlife Refuges to the Consolidated Salish/Kootenai tribes in Montana. Native American tribes have a long history of managing their lands and wildlife resources, but my understanding is that the US Fish and Wildlife Service is Congressionally mandated to manage National Wildlife Refuges. In addition, the National Wildlife Refuge Association’s position is that any transfer or disposal of National Wildlife Refuge lands requires an act of Congress. The proposed legislation would allow tribes to take over existing refuges, including those outside reservation boundaries. The primary concern is that if this legislation passes, refuges could be managed for special interests, rather than for the good of the nation’s wildlife. Once such a precedent is set, the management of refuges in many other states would also be threatened.

The end of the year is also a time to look back and consider our successes. The Friends of the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuges formed in the fall of 1999. After four years, I believe that we have an impressive list of accomplishments in a variety of areas, including: