A Vision for Wilderness in the National Wildlife Refuge System

Lecture given by Bill Reffalt. Opening Remarks by Edwin E. Krumpe principal scientist for the Wilderness Research Center and professor in the Department of Resource Recreation and Tourism. Introuction by John C. Hendee dean of the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Range Sciences and director of the University of Idaho Wilderness Research Center. The lectre opens with a definition of wilderness and what that means for National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). An introduction is given for the NRWS and how it's purpose is to protect the fish and wildlife, not it's reputation among humans. Refuges span across the United States and it's territories, often focusing on endangered or threatened species. A color slideshow was then presented by the lecturer. The slideshow begins with Alaska, portraying the caribou as a token species that uses the wilderness. In the Pacific Northwest wilderness can be found along the coastline. In the Southwest many desert biomes have been preserved as wilderness. The Midwest and Lake States are home to natural prairies and marshlands. The Northeast holds a 3,000 acre forest swamp. The Southeast has their unique swampland, the Everglades. The lecture then discusses how the Wilderness Act was applied to those refuges, mostly poorly. The lecture then details how that poor enaction of the legeslation is being changed. Unique problems associated with different types of wilderness are described, including Island Wilderness and U.S. Military activity in wilderness. The lecture then details a future plan to incorporate the NWRS with the Wilderness Act. The current paradigm that wildlife managers are operating under is described and a call is made to shift that paradigm. The new model is described as a holistic management program. The proposal is made that wilderness itself is a tool for managers to use, a baseline resource. A list of opportunities that wilderess gives to managers of refuge systems is given. The lecture closes with a Walt Whitman quote. A bibliography is included. A list of past lecturers and the titles of their lectures are listed