Contacts
Scott Flaherty,
612-713-5309
Four U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officers from national wildlife
refuges in the Midwest departed their home stations Saturday, Sept.10 for
New Orleans, La., where they will support ongoing federal hurricane relief
operations. The officers, three from the Upper Mississippi River National
Wildlife and Fish Refuge in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, and one from Necedah
NWR in Wisconsin, also transported two flat-bottomed boats and two air boats
that they will use for search and rescue operations.
The officers
are among 34 Service employees—mostly firefighters and law enforcement
officers--who have deployed from national wildlife refuges and wetland management
districts in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois to support
hurricane relief efforts in Texas, southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi.
“ While
relatively few in number, our employees possess a wealth of expertise and
specialized equipment needed to support federal and local government agencies
working to recover from Hurricane Katrina,” said Robyn Thorson, regional
director of the Service’s Midwest Region.
The Midwest group joins a contingent of about 220 Service employees who are
supporting a wide range of relief missions in southeastern Louisiana and southern
Mississippi. More than 40 emergency responders from the Service have been on
the ground in the hurricane damaged region since August 31. Initial missions
for Service crews included clearing downed trees and other debris from roads
and high priority buildings such as hospitals, schools and law enforcement
centers. Service law enforcement officers are also assisting local law enforcement
agencies in search and rescue missions.
The Service
is coordinating its relief efforts through an Incident Command Post at Big
Branch Marsh NWR in Lacombe, La. The Service-operated support facility there
is providing showers, food and other services to local police, emergency
services personnel and other relief workers. The facility is also providing
between 350-400 meals each day, 200 hundred of which are being sent to a
local hospital.
The Service
has about 100 employees permanently stationed at national wildlife refuges
and other facilities in areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina. All employees
are safe and accounted for, however 21employees lost their homes in the hurricane
according to Jeff Fleming, assistant regional director for external affairs
in the Service’s Southeast Region.
“ Many
have gone to stay with relatives while a few are being housed temporarily
in mobile home type trailers we’ve secured for them. We’re making
sure all of our people are being cared for,” Fleming said.
The Service
also temporarily closed 16 national wildlife refuges in Louisiana, Mississippi
and Alabama due to storm damage. The agency also closed the port of entry
it operates in New Orleans and is urging importers and exporters of fish
and wildlife products to use one of 16 other ports the agency operates including
those in Houston, Miami, Memphis, and Atlanta.
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 more than 542 national
wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management
areas. It also operates 70 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-
| 
