The nearly 18 million visitors on the national wildlife refuges in 1970 represented a 10 percent increase over the 16.3 million who visited them in 1969. Public use on national wildlife refuges is secondary to the primary responsibility of protection and perpetuation of wildlife resources. Public use can be authorized when there are recreational, educational, or interpretive resources whose development will not interfere with wildlife protection programs, endanger the safety and welfare of the public, duplicate adequate recreational facilities on National, State, or local forests or parks within a reasonable distance, or create a detriment to refuge facilities. A principal objective and contribution of national wildlife refuges is to foster public use associated directly with fish, wildlife, and habitat. To achieve this objective, consideration is given first to those appropriate public uses directly associated with public enjoyment by observation, utilization, and understanding. This type of wildlife-oriented use amounted to 69 percent of all activities, with 31 percent being nonwildlife-oriented. Of the wildlife-oriented uses, fishing constituted 33.2 percent; hunting, where authorized, 4.7 percent; and interpretation, including sightseeing, wildlife observing and photographing, use of wildlife trails, and interpretive facilities, lead all others with 62.1 percent. Nonwildlife-oriented uses included boating, 21.9 percent; swimming, 19.8 percent; and picnicking, 18.3 percent. All others, with camping, group camping, horseback riding, and winter sports, amounted to 40 percent. The increased programs of interpretation and wildlife-oriented use reflect the number of different persons visiting national wildlife refuges. The most striking increases in the number of visitors came from refuges near urban areas. |