[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20502-20503]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE WEEK

 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate 
National Wildlife Refuge Week. This week of wildlife education and 
activities marks the 99th birthday of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System. Following in the footsteps of one of our first conservationist 
Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, who in 1903 instituted the National 
Wildlife Refuge on Pelican Island in Florida, the National Wildlife 
Refuge System attentively monitors and preserves wildlife habitats on 
538 National Wildlife Refugees spanning 94 million acres. The National 
Wildlife Refuge System plays a unique and critical role in ensuring 
Americans a safe, clean, and natural ecosystem where both wildlife and 
people benefit from a healthy environment.
  The National Wildlife Refuge System protects a wide range of wildlife 
and landscapes throughout the country. In particular, the refuges in 
the Southwest are necessary to secure the well-being and survival of an 
assortment of migratory birds, including the bald eagle, who make the 
Southwest their home during the fall and spring months. The National 
Wildlife Refuge System concentrates not only on the hands-on aspect of 
environmental protection but, focuses on the importance of science in 
determining the future and well-being of wildlife. Specifically, they 
direct their scientific endeavors towards the accelerating rate of 
extinction of species and the associated loss of biological diversity 
coupled with habitat alteration and destruction. Their efforts towards 
the preservation of wildlife are in conjunction with and for the well-
being of Americans and

[[Page 20503]]

their ability to enjoy a peaceful, natural, and unspoiled national 
refuge.
  The National Wildlife Refuge contributes greatly to ensuring many of 
New Mexico's natural landmark treasures such as Bitter Lake, Bosque del 
Apache, Grulla, Las Vegas, Maxwell, San Andres, and Sevilleta. The 
National Wildlife Refuge has been devoted to the restoration of 
Sevilleta, making native animals such as deer, elk, coyotes, mountain 
lions, and various birds and reptiles more abundant and visible. In 
particular, and of great interest to me, is the Long-Term Ecological 
Research Project the National Wildlife Refuge System they have 
launched. Such programs are key to the revitalization of not just 
Sevilletta, but to all of New Mexico's varying ecosystems. Their 
project is in line with the Sevilleta National Wild Refuge program and 
the Rio Grande Bosque Initiative that was implemented in 1991.
  As part of my concern for New Mexico's wildlife, I included a 
provision in this year's Interior Appropriations bill providing $1.25 
million for the Fish and Wildlife program to design a new research 
complex for Sevilleta NWR. This facility will support numerous 
university and Federal agency research programs.
  The National Wildlife Refuge System consistently helps prevent and 
regulate environmental disasters through their highly cultivated set of 
management tools that includes farming, prescribed burning, exotic 
plant control, moist soil management, and water level manipulation. 
Without the perseverance of such organizations as the National Wildlife 
Refuge System, we would not be able to successfully tackle the many 
environmental obstacles that stand in the way of a healthy and well 
managed ecosystem.
  I wish the National Wildlife Refuge System a great week of learning, 
exploration, and fun and a continued success in their wildlife and 
environmental work. Although I cannot be in my beloved home of New 
Mexico for this noble event, I congratulate this organization for their 
almost one hundred years of conservation and public works.

                          ____________________