CAMAS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE – States findings of the Legislature and requests an expedited permitting process to clean Camas Creek and a transfer of the ownership of the refuge.

This joint memorial (SJM 104) requests two actions from federal agencies: (1) expedited permitting to clean Camas Creek (which is obstructed by sediment and willows, disrupting water delivery to agricultural users), and (2) transfer of Camas National Wildlife Refuge ownership to Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game for integration with the adjacent Mud Lake Wildlife Management Area. It directly affects Idaho water right holders dependent on Camas Creek water for farming and aims to streamline management of the 11,000-acre refuge and 11,500-acre Mud Lake area. The memorial cites that Idaho’s state permitting process is faster and equally protective as federal procedures, and that Idaho Fish and Game has managed similar areas effectively for decades. As a procedural request to Congress and federal agencies, it does not create new law but seeks to resolve operational delays.