Today we commended the efforts of acting Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, to use previously appropriated funds to keep 38 National Wildlife Refuges open during the government shut down.

"This is good news, especially for disabled and veteran sportsmen who have hunts planned this month on many of our refuge lands," said Timothy C. Brady, president of the Boone and Crockett Club. "Many of today's sportsmen rely on our refuge system for their hunting opportunities. It is great to see our agency leaders stepping up like this."

Public hunting is allowed as part of the management plans for 370 of the 562 National Wildlife Refuges, which are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"The Boone and Crockett Club has had a long history and close relationship with our national refuge system dating back to our founder, Theodore Roosevelt, who established this system for our nation, " Brady explained. "These well-managed lands and the wildlife they support have benefited people for generations. Acting Secretary Bernhardt has made good on a promise these lands were intended for, and we thank him for that."

President Theodore Roosevelt designated the first wildlife refuge, Florida's Pelican Island, in 1903.