News Release

December 18, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Howard Phillips, Refuge Manager
(252) 796-3004 x226

Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Road Closure

Refuge Manager Howard Phillips announced today that some roads on Pocosin Lakes NWR have been closed to vehicles. Northern Road and Seagoing Road located in Tyrrell County are closed due to heavy rains which have caused the roads to become impassable in places. If the roads are driven on when wet, it creates large ruts and degrades the road further, leading to additional maintenance costs and vehicles getting stuck in the road. There are no towing services available. When in doubt, do not attempt to drive on wet refuge roads. You may need to consider parking and walking in to access the refuge. As the rainy conditions continue, we will need to close the roads to vehicular traffic until they become dry and we are able to conduct maintenance.

Currently, the following roads are closed: Northern Road (located west of Highway 94) and Seagoing Road (located south of Northern Road, west of Lake Phelps and north of Harvester and Western Roads). The refuge staff is working hard to maintain the unimproved roads, however in times of heavy, recurring rainfall, some roads will have to be closed.

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 almost 540 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 -