Eighty Years of Public Participation on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge

Abstract:In 1936 President Roosevelt designated an area in northeastern Montana along the Missouri River as the Fort Peck Game Range. This federally managed site would later become the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Our historical review of the wildlife refuge indicates conflicts between administrative agencies and ranchers, primarily over reduction in livestock grazing and an increasing emphasis on wildlife conservation. Our review also finds that public participation in matters related to resource management was irrelevant during the formative years of the wildlife refuge. Participation became more visible during the development of several environmental impact statements, when the US Fish and Wildlife Service used the conventional participation approach of mailing information and inviting citizens to meetings. More recently, collaborative participation, where the planning process is influenced and driven by citizens and stakeholders, has gradually become more common and successful on federal lands. While we were unable to document effective collaborative efforts on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, we believe that the adoption of collaboration to enhance discussion and resolution of current challenges would prove mutually beneficial to citizens of northeastern Montana and natural resources on the refuge.