Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : House OKs More Uses for Wildlife Refuges

The House passed a measure to make fishing, hunting and other recreation primary uses of federal wildlife refuges, in direct competition with wildlife conservation. The legislation, which was blasted by conservation groups as a perversion of the purpose of refuges, passed 287 to 138. The White House Office of Management and Budget said that it would recommend that the legislation be vetoed because it would “greatly weaken the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s ability to protect the National Wildlife Refuge system from harmful activities.”