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 Big Muddy 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
Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Comprehensive Conservation Plan Under Way
Next Steps
The Refuge
For More Information
Comprehensive Conservation Plan Under Way
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is preparing a Comprehensive Conservation Plan, or CCP, that will guide management of Big Muddy NFWR for the next 15 years. Planning ensures that the Refuge is managed in a way that fulfills its own purposes and fulfills the mission and purpose of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Planning is expected to take 3 years. Public involvement is a key element in comprehensive conservation planning, and there will be opportunities for neighbors, local communities, and everyone interested in the management of Big Muddy NFWR to participate in the planning process.
Public Listening Meetings Held
The planning project was launched with a series of public listening meetings that were held in December 2007 and January 2008 in communities along the length of the Refuge.
Handouts describing comprehensive conservation planning, a draft vision for the Refuge, draft Refuge goals, and other information were available at all of the public listening meetings. The handout is available here (220 KB) in portable document format (pdf). To view a pdf you need Acrobat Reader software, which is available as a free download from Adobe.
Next Steps
Refuge staff are using the comments they received at public listening meetings as well as comments from the Service's Regional Office and their own observations to develop a list of the significant issues that will be addressed in the CCP. Staff are developing potential management alternatives and, once alternatives have been developed, they will prepare an environmental assessment that evaluates how well each alternative addresses the issues. The draft CCP will be based on the preferred alternative identified in the environmental assessment.
The Refuge
Big Muddy NFWR consists of more than 10,000 acres of land along the Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri. The Refuge was created in 1994 for the development, advancement, management, conservation and protection of fish and wildlife resources. The Refuge's authorized boundary includes up to 60,000 acres of floodplains and adjacent lands on the lower Missouri River.
The Refuge consists of several units that are named for towns that once flourished, pioneers, or landmarks along the Missouri River.
For More Information
For more information on the Big Muddy NFWR planning process, please send a note either via e-mail or through the mail, or call Refuge Manager Tom Bell at:
Telephone:
Toll-free: 800-611-1826
573/876-1826
TTY: 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Relay)
Address:
Big Muddy NFWR
Attention: CCP Comment
4200 New Haven Road
Columbia, MO 65201
