Contacts
Jim Leach,
612-713-5406
Dave Bennett
218-687-2229
Scott Flaherty,
612-713-5309
Glacial Ridge
National Wildlife Refuge near Crookston, Minnesota, is among a list of refuges
and wetland management districts nationwide that would be opened to hunting
and fishing, or see current opportunities for those activities expanded under
a proposal published in today’s Federal Register, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) announced today.
The Service
is proposing to add hunting and fishing programs on six national wildlife
refuges in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The Service is also proposing to expand hunting and fishing opportunities
at seven additional wildlife refuges. The proposed rule is available for
public comment until August 5, 2005. The full text of the proposed Refuge-Specific
Regulations for Hunting and Fishing is available on the Internet at http://refuges.fws.gov
within the "Policies and Budget" link.
" Fulfilling
the intent of the 1997 National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act, the Fish
and Wildlife Service is proposing to expand compatible wildlife dependent
recreational opportunities, such as hunting and fishing, on our national
wildlife refuges. We welcome hunters, anglers, bird watchers, photographers,
and others who seek to enjoy the extraordinary resources on this nation’s
wildlife refuges,” said Acting Fish and Wildlife Service Director Matt
Hogan.
According
to Dave Bennett, who manages Glacial Ridge NWR and nearby Rydell NWR, the
proposal would open 2,300 acres of Service-owned land at Glacial Ridge NWR
this year. “The land would be open for deer hunting as per Refuge regulations
and Minnesota laws, this includes archery, regular season and muzzle loader,” said
Bennett, “The hunting of prairie chicken and sharp-tailed grouse will
be in accordance with zones and regulations established by Minnesota. Specific
refuge regulations would also apply.”
All existing
Glacial Ridge Refuge lands are in Special Prairie Chicken Zone 405A. Migratory
bird hunting to include: ducks, geese, coots, common snipe, morning doves,
woodcock and rails, will be allowed on 40 percent of the 2,300 acres to comply
with International Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Maps and boundary posting will
identify areas open to migratory bird hunting.
“ As
additional lands are added to the Glacial Ridge NWR in future years, areas
opened for specific hunts will be adjusted to accommodate non-consumptive
public uses,” Bennett said.
In addition
to Glacial Ridge NWR, the Service is proposing to add the following wildlife
refuges to the agency’s list of units open for hunting or fishing:
Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Alabama; Stone Lakes NWR in
California; Stewart B. McKinney NWR in Connecticut; Assabet River NWR in
Massachusetts and Silvio O. Conte NWR in New Hampshire.
In addition,
the Service is proposing to expand recreational hunting and fishing opportunities
on seven wildlife refuges: Sacramento River NWR in California; Moosehorn
NWR in Maine; Great Meadows NWR and Oxbow NWR in Massachusetts; Squaw Creek
NWR in Missouri; Wertheim NWR in New York; and Julia Butler Hansen for the
Columbia Whitetail Deer NWR in Washington.
The Register
notice also announces existing hunting and fishing opportunities on 12 wetland
management districts including Big Stone and Minnesota Valley WMD in Minnesota,
and 10 other wetland management districts in North Dakota: Arrowwood WMD;
Audubon WMD; Chase Lake WMD; Crosby WMD; J. Clark Salyer WMD; Kulm WMD; Lostwood
WMD; Long Lake WMD; Tewaukon WMD and Valley City WMD in North Dakota.
Two wildlife
refuges are being removed from the Code of Federal Regulations: The former
Pocasse NWR is now managed by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and
Parks and is no longer part of the Refuge System; and Rock Lake NWR in North
Dakota was closed to hunting in 1996.
In 2004, there
were 2.3 million hunting visits to wildlife refuges and 7 million fishing
visits. By law, hunting and fishing are two of the six priority wildlife-dependent
recreational uses on wildlife refuges. The Refuge System provides opportunities
to hunt and fish whenever they are compatible with the conservation goals
of individual national wildlife refuges.
The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving,
protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for
the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the nearly
100-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses 545 national
wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management
areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource
offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal
wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory
bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program
that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing
and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-FWS-
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