However, this action does enable the Service to initiate planning for the refuge in concert with all interested organizations and individuals, and seek consensus on a protection strategy for the Darby watershed that may include the refuge. A refuge may only become a reality after the planning phase is completed, funds are appropriated by Congress and land, or a right therein, is acquired.
The agencys main interest is in the preservation and restoration of native habitats in the watershed that support federal fish and wildlife trust resources. While the Service goal is not to preserve agricultural land for its own sake, it is the agencys sincere intention to work with local farmers to seek a strategy that accomplishes the resource preservation and restoration objectives of the project while maintaining the integrity of the agricultural community as much as possible, said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Bill Hartwig.
The Big and Little Darby Creeks are the main drainages in a watershed that has the unique distinction of being one of the most ecologically significant warmwater watersheds in the largely agricultural Midwest. Significant segments of the streams also are designated as National Scenic Rivers. The system harbors 103 species of fish, 4 federal and, numerous state, threatened and endangered species.
In addition, the natural history of the watershed is one where extensive wetlands intermingled with the eastern fringe of the continental tallgrass prairie.
Today, agriculture dominates the landscape and has been largely responsible for the maintenance of a healthy aquatic system since the land was converted. Westward urbanizing pressures from the City of Columbus, however, are beginning to change the character of the landscape in the watershed, and threaten the overall quality of the aquatic system.
In recognition of the potential rapid fragmentation of lands in the watershed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Columbus Metropolitan Parks District, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, began evaluating options for its long- term protection. A plan evolved from this process which included as a centerpiece a new national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge in the headwaters of the Little Darby Creek.
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 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 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. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
