Contacts
Richard Speer, 573-222-3589
Scott Flaherty 612-713-5309
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking the public to
comment on plans that will affect the management of three national wildlife
refuges (NWR) in Missouri. The Service is seeking public input on a draft
Environmental Assessment (EA) and draft Fire Management Plan (FMP) for Mingo
NWR, as well as draft FMPs for Pilot Knob and Ozark Cave Fish NWR.
Mingo NWR is located in Stoddard and Wayne Counties in southeast
Missouri. The refuge comprises of 21,676 acres of forested bottomland wetlands
nestled against the Ozark foothills. Pilot Knob NWR is a 90-acre refuge in
Iron County near Ironton (approximately 60 miles northwest of Mingo NWR)
while Ozark Cave Fish NWR is a 40-acre refuge in Lawrence County near Halltown
(approximately 20 miles west of Springfield, Mo.)
The Environmental Assessment for Mingo NWR considers four alternatives,
including the “no action” alternative required for all National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents. The “preferred alternative” is
to adopt the FMP and to allow for prescribed burns and to suppress all wildland
fires. One alternative would allow for no prescribed burning and to monitor
all wildland fires while a fourth alternative would allow both prescribed
burns and the monitoring of wildland fires. Fire Management Plans for Pilot
Knob and Ozark Cave Fish refuges will be approved as “categorical exclusions” because
of the small physical size of the refuges.
The fire management plan for the refuges include a description
of refuge habitats and surrounding lands, and the proposed actions regarding
wildfire suppression and use of prescribed fire. Copies of the plans can
be requested from the headquarters office at Mingo NWR located just north
of Puxico Mo., or at the public libraries in Puxico, Ironton, and Republic,
Mo. The plans may also be viewed on-line at the following addresses:
Mingo FMP/EA: http://midwest.fws.gov/FireManagement/EAMingoFMP.pdf
Mingo FMP: http://midwest.fws.gov/FireManagement/MingoFMP.pdf
Satellite FMP http://midwest.fws.gov/FireManagement/PilotKnobOzarkCaveFMP.pdf
The public comment period will be open through October 22, 2003. Written comments
should be sent to: Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, 24279 State Highway 51,
Puxico, Missouri, 63960; or by E-mail to: richard_speer@fws.gov or
fax: (573) 222-6343. Questions regarding the draft plans, or about the refuges
can be directed to Refuge Manager Kathleen Maycroft or Assistant Refuge Manager
Richard Speer at (573) 222-3589.
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 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 Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars
in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife
agencies.
-FWS-
| 
