Alligator River/Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge P. O. Box 1969 Manteo, North Carolina 27954 Contact: Bonnie Strawser - 252-473-1131 Back to News Home Page

News Release

November 26, 2003

Local Refuge Manager Receives Department of Interior Award for Environmental Stewardship

Mike Bryant receives Department of Interior top award for Environmental Stewardship for his negotiations and teamwork relating to the planning process for replacing the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge.
Credit: Kathy Whaley, FWS

Mike Bryant,Refuge Manager for Pea Island and Alligator River National Wildlife Refuges, traveled to Washington, DC last week to accept the coveted Department of Interior Environmental Achievement Award for Environmental Stewardship. Bryant's award recognized his efforts in working with other agencies to come up with a plan to replace the Herbert C Bonner Bridge while protecting the important wetalnds and wildlife habitat on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

The award citation reads: Mr. Michael Bryant, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Manteo, North Carolina Bonner Bridge Replacement: A Voice for the Environment - Environmental Stewardship
Mr. Michael Bryant, Refuge Manager for the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, is recognized for almost ten years of collaborative planning on a team of fourteen federal and state agencies who must build a replacement to the Bonner Bridge. Spanning the environmentally sensitive Oregon Inlet of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, most sites under consideration for the new bridgewould have affectedthe Refugeand inlet environment adversely. Mr. Bryant’s exceptional achievement is the way in which he has maintained positive lines of communication to champion the most environmentally sound options. At any point during these discussions, the Department of Transportation(DOT) could have appealed to Congress for the Right of Eminent Domain, taking away the Refuge’s right to protect environmentally unsound options and leading to a time consuming and expensive legal battle. DOT has never considered such a course of action. Although a final site for a replacement bridge has not yet been selected,the most environmentally hazardous sites are no longer in consideration. Mr. Bryant is recognized for his long endeavor which is an exemplary instance of the Secretary Norton’s 4 Cs: communication, consultation, and cooperationall in the service of conservation.