Contacts
Janet Smith 920-866-1717
Georgia Parham 812-334-4261 x 203
On March 10, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a
public comment period for a draft environmental assessment/restoration plan
(EA/plan) to restore a portion of the Lake Superior basin in Wisconsin. This
EA/plan would use funds received from settlement with Burlington Northern
following a1992 train derailment and chemical spill into the Nemadji River
near Superior, Wisconsin. The chemical spill killed fish and affected other
natural resources. The draft EA/plan was announced as being available on
the Service’s website and comments could be made in several formats.
A court order issued on March 15, 2004 has made the Service’s internet
sites and electronic mail connections unavailable for the immediate future.
Printed copies of the EA/plan are still available at:
Tribal Office, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Tribal Office
Natural Resources Department
One Maple Street
Odanah, Wisconsin
Tribal Office, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
88385 Pike Road, State Highway 13
Bayfield, Wisconsin
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ashland Fishery Resource Office
2800 Lake Shore Drive East
Ashland, Wisconsin
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Green Bay Ecological Services
Field Office
2661 Scott Tower Drive
New Franken, Wisconsin
Copies of the draft EA/plan can also be obtained by contacting
the Service's Green Bay Ecological Services Field Office at (920) 866-1717.
Comments on the draft may be sent to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Green
Bay Ecological Services Field Office, 2661 Scott Tower Drive, New Franken,
Wisconsin 54229. Comments may also be faxed to 920-866-1710. If anyone sent
e-mail comments on or after March 15, 2004, they should resend comments via
regular mail or facsimile. The closing date for commenting has been extended
from April 12 to April 19, 2004 because of the problems. The Service apologizes
for any inconvenience.
The draft EA/plan outlines a variety of alternatives that might
be used to restore the site and associated wetland and coastal areas. The
proposed alternative calls for preservation and restoration of equivalent
aquatic habitat focusing on coastal and lakeplain wetlands within the Lake
Superior basin in Wisconsin.
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 544 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-
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