What is Refuge Planning?

The Division of Planning serves two basic components of the Refuge System: Refuge Management and Refuge Land Protection. Under the authority of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the division prepares Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCP) which facilitate and guide the management programs at each refuge. As a major part of the region's land acquisition effort, the branch assists in the development of required environmental compliance documents under the authority of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Natural resource planners work with ecosystem teams, realty specialists, field biologists, various conservation interests, and professionals in the regional office in documenting and communicating management decisions to affected interests.

Refuge management strives to achieve a variety of goals that support the refuges' various purposes, while providing compatible, wildlife-dependent recreation. The refuge purpose is stated in the legislation, administrative action or regulatory action establishing each unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Purposes include, but are not limited to, providing resting and feeding areas for migrating birds, protecting breeding habitat for rare species and conserving outstanding examples of rare habitat types. Management required to achieve goals may include active water level manipulation to foster growth of waterfowl forage plants, prescription burning to maintain grasslands, providing free water sources to wildlife populations cut off from natural water sources, or simply preventing disturbance during critical points of an animal's life cycle.

Wildlife-dependent recreation includes hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental interpretation and environmental education. The National Wildlife Refuge System strives to provide these forms of recreation when they are compatible with the refuge's purpose. Comprehensive Conservation Plans outline methods of achieving refuge purposes while providing the public with high quality opportunities for compatible, wildlife-dependent recreation.

Refuge land protection planning takes two forms. Preliminary Project Proposals (PPPs) initiate the process of creating a new refuge or expanding the boundary of an existing refuge. Land Protection Plans (LPPs) are prepared to identify lands suitable for addition to the National Wildlife Refuge System, describe the lands' natural resource values and explain how they would enhance the System. Land protection planners are responsible for compliance with NEPA for Refuge creation or expansion. National Wildlife Refuge System lands are acquired on a willing seller basis.

Both the CCP planning efforts and the land protection planning efforts require a strong sensitivity to appropriately informing potentially affected interests about planned management actions, strong skills in the area of public involvement, and full understanding of the implications of NEPA.