See the Final EIS/CCP
The Final EIS/CCP is provided in portable document format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Acrobat is available for free on the Adobe website. The complete document with all of the graphics is a very large document. It is presented here as one file with the full FEIS/CCP, as one text-only file, and by chapter.
Final EIS/CCP (Full document, 8.2 MB)
Final EIS/CCP, text-only version (4.5 MB)
Summary Final EIS/CCP (322 KB)
Final EIS/CCP by Chapter
Dear Reader (56
KB)
Abstract (29 KB)
Reader's Guide (39 KB)
Contents (362 KB)
Chapter 1: Introduction, Purpose and Need
and Issues (1.5 MB), text-only
version of Chapter 1 (215 KB)
Chapter 2: Alternatives, Including the
Proposed Action (7 MB), text-only version of Chapter 2 (625 KB)
Chapter 3: The Affeccted Environment (5 MB), text-only version Chapter
3 (334 KB)
Chapter 4: Environmental Consequences 868 KB)
Chapter 5: List of Preparers (40
KB)
Chapter 6: Compliance, Consultation, and
Coordination with Others (227 KB)
Chapter 7: Public Comment on the Draft EIS
and Response (2.2 MB), text-only version (130 KB)
Chapter 8: List of References (39
KB)
Appendix A: Glossary (69 KB)
Appendix B: Acronyms and Abbreviations (34 KB)
Appendix C: Distribution List (22
KB)
Appendix D: Applicable Laws and Executive
Orders (64 KB)
Appendix E: Executive Order Establishing
Trempealeau Migratory Waterfowl Refuge (31 KB)
Appendix F: Economic Analysis of Refuge
Alternatives and Demographics (43 KB)
Appendix G: Species List (196
KB)
Appendix H: Plan Implementation (711
KB)
Appendix I: Draft Compatibility
Determinations (35 KB)
Index (337 KB)
Where in the Plan Are We?
These are the steps that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service follows in comprehensive conservation planning; the step that Trempealeau NWR has reached is highlighted:
- Preplanning: Plan the Plan
- Initiate Public Involvement and Scoping
- Review Vision Statement and Goals and Determine Significant Issues
- Develop and Analyze Alternatives, Including the Proposed Action
- Prepare a Draft CCP and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Document
- Prepare and Adopt Final CCP
- Implement Plan, Monitor and Evaluate
- Review and Revise the Plan
Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Final EIS/CCP Available for Review
Next Steps
The Refuge
For More Information
Final EIS/CCP Completed
The Refuge has completed its Final Environmental Impact Statement and Comprehensive Conservation Plan. The plan is available here in portable document format (pdf), and paper copies and electronic copies are available at Refuge Headquarters and in local libraries.
All comments received during the comment period for the Draft EIS were considered in the preparation of this Final EIS. There will now be a 30-day waiting period before a decision is made on which alternative in the Final EIS will be implemented as the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Refuge. This decision will be documented in a formal Record of Decision signed by the Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Next Steps
After the the 30-day waiting period ends and the Regional Director signs the Record of Decision, the planning process will be completed by creating a stand-alone CCP. The FEIS is an integrated document combining the requirements of a CCP with the environmental impact statement, which makes it a very thick document. To make the CCP more accessible for everyday use, the Refuge will pull out the CCP portions of the FEIS to create a stand-alone CCP. When it's complete, the stand-alone CCP will also be available on this website.
Main Points of the Plan
The Refuge is proposing to increase its emphasis on fish and wildlife habitat management as well as provide diverse wildlife-dependent activities for people visiting the Refuge, including traditional and compatible non-wildlife-dependent activities.
Some highlights of the proposed plan include:
- Strengthen the Refuge's role in protecting threatened and endangered species with improved monitoring of Bald Eagle nests and assessing the potential for reintroduction of Massasauga rattlesnakes in the River Bottoms Road area.
- Lower water levels in various pools periodically to enhance plant growth, encourage white swamp oak growth, and reduce rough fish populations.
- Remove pine plantations from prairie units.
- Treat 5 acres of upland and floodplain forest every year to remove black locust and European buckthorn.
- Continue to use trapping as a management tool for controlling muskrat, beaver and raccoon populations.
- Try to reduce conflicts between hunters and other visitors during the hunting season. Toward this end, require pedestrians to wear blaze orange during the hunting season and investigate the option of closing the Refuge to non-hunting visitors during key hunting times.
- Make the Refuge friendlier to bicyclists with improved directional signs and interpretation on the Great River Road, and add bike racks at some locations on the Refuge.
- Expand the role of volunteers in all areas of Refuge management.
- Improve protection of cultural resources on the Refuge.
The Refuge
Located along the Mississippi River near Trempealeau, Wisconsin, Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1936 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. The 6,226-acre Refuge is part of the Upper Mississippi River NWR Complex.
The Refuge is a backwater of the Mississippi River and is strategically located within an important migration corridor, providing resting and feeding habitat for thousands of waterfowl and other birds during spring and fall. The Refuge also includes more than 700 acres of native prairie and oak savanna, habitat types that are becoming scarce in Wisconsin.
For More Information
For more information on comprehensive conservation planning for Trempealeau NWR, please e-mail us, or call or write to Refuge Manager Vickie Hirschboeck at:
Phone: 608/539-2311, ext. 10
TTY: 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Relay)
Address:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge
W28488 Refuge Road
Trempealeau, WI 54661
Last revised April 15, 2008
