Contacts
Don Hultman,
refuge complex manager 507-494-6218
Scott Flaherty,
External Affairs 612-713-5309
The Upper
Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge has scheduled an additional
public information meeting for Thursday, June 2 on the Draft Comprehensive
Conservation Plan that will guide future management of the Refuge.
Refuge Manager
Don Hultman said public interest in the plan will likely mean large turnouts
at scheduled meetings, especially in the La Crosse area. The first La Crosse
area meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, May 26 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
at the Conference Center at Stoney Creek Inn, South Kinney Coulee Road,
Onalaska. The meetings are preceded by an open house beginning at 5:30
p.m.
“ By
adding another meeting, it will give more people a chance to attend and
provide them another option should audience size and time limit the number
of questions and comments that can be handled, “ Hultman said.
The June
2 meeting format will be identical to the 10 other public meetings that
began last week in Clinton, IA. The June 2 meeting will also be held at
the Conference Center at Stoney Creek Inn in Onalaska, with an open house
from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. followed by a staff presentation on the draft plan
and a question and answer session.
Hultman
said the first round of meetings is aimed at providing information about
the draft plan. Evening workshops starting in mid-June will focus on detailed
public input and recommendations. He said additional workshops or special
topic meetings will be scheduled in the near future.
“ We
are trying to be adaptive to the needs of the public. Last night in Lansing,
Iowa we agreed to hold a special workshop focused on Pool 9 at the request
of folks at the meeting,” Hultman said.
Further
information on the meetings or draft plan is available on the web at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/uppermiss or
by calling the Refuge at (507) 452-4232.
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 95-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, 63 Fish
and Wildlife Management offices and 81 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 Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions
of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish
and wildlife agencies.
-FWS-
| 
