[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 43, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 43CFR24.1]

[Page 445-446]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
PART 24--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE POLICY: STATE-FEDERAL RELATIONSHIPS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 24.1  Introduction.

    (a) In 1970, the Secretary of the Interior developed a policy 
statement on intergovernmental cooperation in the preservation, use and 
management of fish and wildlife resources. The purpose of the policy (36 
FR 21034, Nov. 3, 1971) was to strengthen and support the missions of 
the several States and the Department of the Interior respecting fish 
and wildlife. Since development of the policy, a number of Congressional 
enactments and court decisions have addressed State and Federal 
responsibilities for fish and wildlife with the general effect of 
expanding Federal jurisdiction over certain species and uses of fish and 
wildlife traditionally managed by the States. In some cases, this 
expansion of jurisdiction has established overlapping authorities, 
clouded agency jurisdictions and, due to differing agency 
interpretations and accountabilities, has contributed to confusion and 
delays in the implementation of management programs. Nevertheless, 
Federal authority exists for specified purposes while State authority 
regarding fish and resident wildlife remains the comprehensive backdrop 
applicable in the absence of specific, overriding Federal law.
    (b) The Secretary of the Interior reaffirms that fish and wildlife 
must be maintained for their ecological, cultural, educational, 
historical, aesthetic, scientific, recreational, economic, and social 
values to the people of the United States, and that these resources are 
held in public trust by the Federal and State governments for the 
benefit of present and future generations of Americans. Because fish and 
wildlife are fundamentally dependent upon habitats on private and public 
lands managed or subject to administration by many Federal and State 
agencies, and because provisions for the protection, maintenance and 
enhancement of fish and wildlife and the regulation for their use are 
established in many laws and regulations involving a multitude of 
Federal and State administrative structures, the effective stewardship 
of fish and wildlife requires the cooperation of the several States and 
the Federal Government.
    (c) It is the intent of the Secretary to strengthen and support, to 
the maximum legal extent possible, the missions of the States\1\ and the 
Department of the Interior to conserve and manage effectively the 
nation's fish and wildlife. It is, therefore, important that a 
Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Policy be implemented to 
coordinate and facilitate the efforts of

[[Page 446]]

Federal and State agencies in the attainment of this objective.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\``States'' refers to all of the several States, the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin 
Islands, Guam, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the 
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and other territorial 
possessions, and the constituent units of government upon which these 
entities may have conferred authorities related to fish and wildlife 
matters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------