Interior Secretary vows assistance

Early last week, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke promised to deliver better wildlife management on federal lands across America and improve opportunities to fish and hunt. On Friday, Zinke signed an order to do just that.

He also doubled down on what he called his co-No. 1 missions: to restore national parks to greatness and improve experiences for park visitors as well as to enrich habitat for wildlife on federal lands.

Zinke — a former Marine, author and congressman from Montana — tied the long-term health of habitat, fish and wildlife to recruiting “youths, veterans, minorities, and other communities that traditionally have low participation in outdoor recreation activities,” he said. From that group, he said, new conservationists could emerge.

“Some of my best memories are hunting deer or reeling in rainbow trout back home in Montana, and I think every American should be able to have that experience,” Zinke said.

The order also requires agencies to improve stewardship of public lands and wildlife management and to collaborate with states, tribes and conservation partners to benefit fish and wildlife populations.

It also directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service to produce plans within 120 days to expand fishing and — where allowed — hunting.

In regard to visitor experience at national parks, Zinke broke from his even demeanor. “I’ve been to some national parks where the restrooms weren’t even clean,” he said. “That’s going to change.”

In response to criticism over the Trump administration’s review of recently designated national monuments, Zinke framed the review in a positive light: He said it was his desire, just as those who support the monuments, to protect the land, but, at the same time, to expand, not reduce, public access for outdoor recreation. The focus of the review, Zinke said, was on new designations that could block access and recreation.