Management of the refuge is subject to several management plans and court decisions. In 1983, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in "Schwenke v. Secretary of the Interior", 720 F.2d 571, that wildlife should be given limited priority to the resources on the refuge, rather than livestock grazing. Executive Order 7509 established wildlife population limits, beyond which wildlife had no priority claim. The court also held that the refuge should be administered according to the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 and not the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934. In April 1986, the National Park Service adopted an environmental impact statement and "decision of record" which established a resource management plan for the refuge. In 2009, the Ninth Circuit ruled in "Silver Dollar Grazing Association v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service", No. 07-35612 (9th Cir., January 13, 2009) that habitat conditions could be used as a proxy for actual wildlife counts for purposes of meeting the conditions of Executive Order 7509.