Compatability Determinations
Increasing human populations mean more demands on natural areas like the Refuge for recreation. Public uses on all National Wildlife Refuges, including Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, are subject to review under the U.S. Fish and Wildife Service's compatibility regulations, which define a compatible use as "an allowable use which will not materially interfere with or detract from the purpose(s) for which the Refuge was established". The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed this concept as a means of determining the compatibility of proposed and existing uses on each National Wildlife Refuge. This legislation is the result of litigation over controversial uses on several Refuges. The compatibility regulations help ensure that all allowed uses on Refuges will be conducted in accordance with the legal mandates and policies for which each Refuge was established, and that each use is in compliance with station funding and personnel levels.
