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Letter
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Nat'l Rec. Areas
New Nat'l Parks
Summary
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Wildlife Management in the National Parks
Wildlife Management on National Recreation Areas
By precedent and logic, the management of wildlife resources on the
national recreation areas can be viewed in a very different light than
in the park system proper. National recreation areas are by definition
multiple use in character as regards allowable types of recreation.
Wildlife management can be incorporated into the operational plans of
these areas with public hunting as one objective. Obviously, hunting
must be regulated in time and place to minimize conflict with other
uses, but it would be a mistake for the National Park Service to be
unduly restrictive of legitimate hunting in these areas. Most of the
existing national recreation areas are federal holdings surrounding
large water impoundments; there is little potentiality for hunting.
Three national seashore recreational areas on the East Coast (Hatteras,
Cape Cod, and Padre Island) offer limited waterfowl shooting. But some
of the new areas being acquired or proposed for acquisition will offer
substantial hunting opportunity for a variety of game species. This
opportunity should be developed with skill, imagination and (we would
hopefully suggest) with enthusiasm.
On these areas as elsewhere, the key to wildlife abundance is a
favorable habitat. The skills and techniques of habitat manipulation
applicable to parks are equally applicable on the recreation areas. The
regulation of hunting, on such areas as are deemed appropriate to open
for such use, should be in accord with prevailing state regulations.
New National Parks
A number of new national parks are under consideration. One of the
critical issues in the establishment of new parks will be the manner in
which the wildlife resources are to be handled. It is our recommendation
that the basic objectives and operating procedures of new parks be
identical with those of established parks. It would seem awkward indeed
to operate a national park system under two sets of ground rules. On the
other hand, portions of several proposed parks are so firmly established
as traditional hunting grounds that impending closure of hunting may
preclude public acceptance of park status. In such cases it may be
necessary to designate core areas as national parks in every sense of
the word, establishing protective buffer zones in the form of national
recreation areas where hunting is permitted. Perhaps only through
compromises of this sort will the park system be rounded out.
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