Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge Draft Habitat Management Plan and Environmental Assessment Available for Review and Comment

Contacts:
Steve Miller, (256) 848-7085 ext. 3
Tom MacKenzie, 404/679-7291

Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge in Bibb County, AL has developed a Draft Habitat Management Plan that would guide management of resources on the refuge for the next 15 years. Copies of the Draft Habitat Management Plan are available for downloading at the Cahaba River NWR website http://www.fws.gov/southeast/cahabariver/ or by contacting the Refuge Manager at the above-listed phone number. The comment period for the Habitat Management Plan will begin on March 1st and end on March 31st. Comments will be accepted via fax, email or regular mail.

This Draft Habitat Management Plan includes specific information on habitats and species that will be managed and protected. An Environmental Assessment of the effects of the different alternatives is also available for comment.

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, 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.