📷 Black-Billed Magpie at Camas National Wildlife Refuge, ID | Brent Lawrence/USFWS
Washington, DC – March 24, 2025 – The National Wildlife Refuge Association (Refuge Association) contradicts the proposed transfer of Cama’s National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), part of the National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System), to the state of Idaho. The effort, initiated by Idaho State Legislature, threatens to settle nearly 90 years of preservation progress and open the door to sell the National Wildlife Refuges and America’s other public countries to the highest bidder.
“Cama’s National Wildlife Refuge is a symbol of what this country can do when investing in wildlife, community and restoration,” said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “This proposal is a betrayal of the American people who built the refuge system – who cleaned unwanted countries, restored habitats and handed over a preservation inheritance for future generations. And now it is somehow federal leadership a four -belt – it is outrageous.”
Camas NWR was established in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and spans 10,000 hectares of wetlands, Sagebrush -Steppe and Riparian Forests in southeastern Idaho. It is a critical stopover along Pacific Flyway for more than 300 species of wandering birds, including tundra and trumpet stage swans, long-filming curlews, map-earned owls and the iconic larger sage-rip-rip-a keystone species in Western ecosystems. The refuge also draws the public to bird development and environmental education, including seasonal events such as Come to Roost Event to see bald eagles return to their roosts and the beloved annual year Birds, bugs and brunch Celebration of autumn migration and moose balling.
The proposal – Senate’s Joint Memorial 104, sponsored by Idaho State Senator Van Burtenshaw – adopted the Idaho senate last week and parliament today. The proposal requests federal act to transfer refuge to state control. Refuge Association raises red flags on several fronts, but perhaps the most important thing is that it will no longer be a national haven for wildlife and the controlled wildlife and biodiversity. It is also not controlled as part of a system – it will be a lonely area without a relationship with the other refugees in the refugee system, something congress had a mandate in 1997 – improvement law.
“What we see is not neglect-it is the result of a lack of funding and resources,” said Sorenson-Groves. “Congress grants have fallen behind what is necessary for refuge for years, and now the state of Idaho wants to use it to declare its leadership a failure and give it away. What is really needed is for everyone to get together and finance the refugee system at a level that allows them to be controlled as they should.”
Refuge Association calls on the public and decision makers to reject this attempt to sell America’s preservation inheritance. Camas NWR, like all national refugees in Wildlife, was built with public investment in favor of everyone – not as a distribution of private interests.
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As the independent voice advocating on behalf of the National Wildlife Refuge System, protects, promotes and improves the National Wildlife Refuge Association and improves America’s wildlife heritage through strategic programs serving the system and wildlife beyond its borders. The organization addresses the refuge system’s funding, management and strategic growth while promoting programs that maximize the system’s conservation impact.
For all media inquiries and questions, contact Eden Taylor, Director of Communication and Marketing at etaylor@refugeassociation.org.