Contacts
Don Hultman,
Refuge Complex Manager 507-494-6218
Scott Flaherty,
External Affairs 612-713-5309
The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has released for public review and
comment a draft of the Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental
Impact Statement for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and
Fish Refuge. The draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan articulates issues
and presents management alternatives for the refuge which extends for 261
miles of Mississippi River floodplain from Wabasha, Minn. to Rock Island,
Ill.
From May
16 to June 23, the refuge will host a series of public information meetings
and workshops at select communities that border the refuge to inform refuge
neighbors, visitors and interested groups about the numerous issues and
management alternatives presented in the Plan. The Plan will guide management
of the refuge for the next 15 years.
Public information
meetings will include an open house segment, a presentation of key issues
and alternatives being considered, and a question and answer session. The
public workshops will use a small group format for discussion of alternatives
and group reporting of ideas and concerns. Special topic public meetings
will be scheduled as needed during the 120-day comment period. Alternatives
being considered in the draft Plan include “no action,” a “wildlife” focus,
a “public use” focus, and “wildlife with integrated public
use” focus.
“ The
draft plan is an important step in the planning process that began nearly
three years ago with public involvement that helped us to identify issues
and public concerns for the refuge,” said Refuge Manager Don Hultman. “We
will continue to involve the public and other agencies as we move closer
to deciding on a management alternative that benefits wildlife and provides
for quality experiences for the millions of people who visit the refuge
each year.”
Dates and
locations of public information meetings and workshops are listed below.
Information meetings begin with an open house from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and
conclude at 9 p.m. Workshops begin at 5:30 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m.
Date,
Location, and Type
-
May 16,
Clinton Community College, Clinton, Iowa, Information Meeting
-
May 17,
House of Events, Savanna, Ill., Information Meeting
-
May 18,
Grand River Center, Dubuque, Iowa, Information Meeting
-
May 19,
Prairie du Chien High School, Prairie du Chien, Wis., Information Meeting
-
May 23,
Kurnt Bros. Community Room, Lansing, Iowa, Information Meeting
-
May 24,
American Legion Post 315, Stoddard, Wis., Information Meeting
-
May 25,
American Legion Club Room, La Crescent, Minn., Information Meeting
-
May 26,
Eagle Bluff Elementary School, Onalaska, Wis., Information Meeting
-
May 31,
Winona Middle School, Winona, Minn., Information Meeting
-
June 1,
Wabasha-Kellogg High School, Wabasha, Minn., Information Meeting
-
June 13,
Winona Middle School, Winona, Minn., Workshop
-
June 14,
Wabasha-Kellogg High School, Wabasha, Minn., Workshop
-
June 16,
Prairie du Chien High School, Prairie du Chien, Wis., Workshop
-
June 21,
House of Events, (108 Main St.) Savanna, Ill., Workshop
-
June 22,
American Legion Post 315, Stoddard, Wis., Workshop
-
June 23,
Onalaska Middle School, Onalaska, Wis., Workshop
An Executive
Summary of the draft Plan has been mailed to nearly 3,000 citizens and
organizations that expressed an interest during earlier public involvement.
Additional copies of the summary can be requested by calling the refuge
headquarters toll free 1-888-291-5719 or 507-452-4232 within the 507 area
code.
The complete draft Plan and a summary can be viewed on the Internet at the
Service’s Planning Website: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/uppermiss/
The draft
Plan can also be viewed at 52 public libraries in communities near the
refuge, or at refuge district offices in Savanna, Ill.; McGregor, Iowa;
La Crosse, Wis.; and Winona, Minn. Written comments on the draft Plan will
be accepted by the Service until August 31, 2005, at the following address:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attn: CCP Comment, Room 101, 51 East Fourth
Street, Winona, MN 55987.
With more
than 3 million visitors per year, the “Upper Miss” Refuge is
the most visited refuge in the country and has the added complexity of
a major navigation system, including 11 locks and dams within its boundary.
It is also a world-class fish and wildlife area which harbors 306 species
of birds; 119 species of fish; more than 130 active bald eagle nests; thousands
of heron and egret nests; spectacular concentrations of canvasback ducks,
tundra swans, and white pelicans; and several threatened or endangered
species.
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 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and
other special management areas. It also operates 66 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 Assistance Program that distributes hundreds of millions of
dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish
and wildlife agencies.
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