WASHINGTON – The Bush administration said Monday it will give people who hunt and fish new access to hundreds of thousands of acres of lands and streams within 17 national wildlife refuges and wetlands, including those in states such as South Dakota, Illinois and Louisiana.
The decision, announced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, did not include refuges and wetlands in the Northwest.
Hunting and fishing, along with observing and photographing wildlife, have long been allowed in the 95-million-acre refuge system. That includes 544 national wildlife refuges and thousands of small wetlands and other specially managed areas.
Currently, more than 300 wildlife refuges and about 3,000 small wetlands are open to hunting, and more than 260 wildlife refuges are open to fishing.
Monday’s decision opens another 243,500 acres as of Sept. 1, wildlife officials said.
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