Idaho Senate calls for state to take over federal Camas National Wildlife Refuge
A bald eagle at the Camas National Wildlife Refuge in winter. The refuge, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937 to protect migratory birds. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
The Idaho Senate has called for the state to take over control of the Camas National Wildlife Refuge from the federal government.
The Idaho Senate voted by voice vote on Monday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise to adopt Senate Joint Memorial 104.
Established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937 to protect migratory birds, the Camas National Wildlife Refuge is an approximately 11,000-acre refuge located in southeast Idaho that is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Idaho Conservation League opposes the legislation.
Sen. Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton, sponsored the joint memorial. The memorial would not carry the effect of the law if adopted by both chambers of the Idaho Legislature, but it represents a request from the Idaho Legislature to the federal government.
'(T)he Legislature requests that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game work together to transfer ownership and administration of the Camas National Wildlife Refuge to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game for incorporation into the Mud Lake Wildlife Management Area,' Senate Joint Memorial 104 states, in part.
The joint memorial also calls on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to promptly process a Section 404 permit application for Camas Creek within the refuge. Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act requires a permit before dredged or fill material may be discharged into waters of the United States, including wetlands, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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During debate over the bill Monday, Burtenshaw said Camas Creek has become obstructed by the buildup of willows and sediment, which prevents the delivery of water to water users in the nearby Mud Lake area.
'A purpose of this legislation is to help the water users in that area obtain the water that they have coming from snow runoff,' Burtenshaw said.
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'The problem we have is that when we get to the Camas Wildlife Refuge, we can't get our water through there, and we can't obtain a permit to clean the channel so that the water can come on through,' Burtenshaw added.
The joint memorial asks the federal government to transfer ownership of the Camas National Wildlife Refuge to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
'We believe it'd be easier to work with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game,' Burtenshaw said. 'The regulations will be the same. The only difference is, we'll work with somebody we can see, as opposed to a seat in Washington, D.C.'
On Monday, Burtenshaw disclosed that he has a potential conflict of interest, noting that the legislation directly affects him and his family. Burtenshaw is a farmer and rancher based in Eastern Idaho.
Nobody spoke in opposition to the joint memorial Monday.
However, the Idaho Conservation League, a more than 50-year-old Idaho-based nonprofit organization that advocates for the protection of public lands, has come out against the joint memorial.
'The Idaho Conservation League strongly opposes SJM 104 because it seeks to strip federally managed public lands from public ownership and place them under state control, specifically under the authority of the Idaho Department of Fish & Game,' Idaho Conservation League officials wrote online. 'Another major concern is that the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have reserved treaty rights on these lands—rights that would be lost if the refuge were transferred to the state.'
Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, was one of the only members of the Idaho Senate to audibly vote against the joint memorial.
Senate Joint Memorial 4 heads next to the Idaho House of Representatives for consideration.
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