Contacts
Don Hultman
507-452-4232
Scott Flaherty
612-713-5309
A series of
16 public meetings on the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental
Impact Statement for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish
Refuge begin June 16 in Clinton, Iowa and Refuge Manager Don Hultman is stressing
that the meetings signal the beginning of the decision process, not the end.
Hultman said
requirements to identify a preferred alternative may lead some to believe
that a decision on the future direction of the Refuge is already made. The
Draft Plan identifies four alternatives: no action, a wildlife focus, a public
use focus, and a wildlife and integrated public use focus (preferred).
“ Identifying
a preferred alternative reflects an agency leaning so the public knows where
we are coming from. However, we can end up selecting any of the four alternatives,
can mix and match various alternatives, and can modify any part of an alternative,” he
said.
Hultman said he believes public comment is more focused and meaningful when
people have a menu of alternatives to compare and contrast, and it also stimulates
new and better options to consider.
He said the
first round of public meetings are informational in nature, designed to help
people understand what is in the plan through an open house with staff, a
slide presentation on major issues and alternatives, and a question and answer
session. The open houses start at 5:30 p.m. with the presentation at 6:30
p.m.
Workshops
beginning June 13 in Winona, Minn. will focus on getting feedback and ideas
using smaller group discussions. Groups will discuss and debate the draft
plan and give a verbal report back to the full audience and Refuge officials.
All workshops begin at 5:30 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m.
A full schedule
of the dates, times, and locations of the information meetings and workshops
was released earlier, and is also available on the Service’s Planning
Website: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/uppermiss Full
copies of the Draft Plan are also on the website, at local libraries, and
at Refuge offices.
Hultman said
he anticipates holding more meetings and workshops as needed to ensure that
input to the decision process is thorough and meaningful. “We purposefully
set a longer-than-normal review and comment period to ensure full input.
We remain committed to seeing that happen,” he said.
Hultman also
said the May 26 Informational Meeting in Onalaska, Wis., has been moved from
Eagle Bluff Elementary School to the Conference Center at the Stoney Creek
Inn, 3060 South Kinney Coulee Road in Onalaska.
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.
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