The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) hosts a public meeting 7 p.m. May 10, at the Brown County Library, Green Bay, to discuss findings in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) bird injury report released in May.
The bird injury report is part of the Fox River and Green Bay NRDA conducted by the Federal government, the Oneida Tribe of Indians and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, and describes how Fox River PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) injure birds in the Green Bay system.
When released, the report will be available for review by apppointment in the Service Reading Room, 1015 Challenger Court, Green Bay, Wisc. Call Joe Moniot at (920) 465-7408 to schedule an appointment. The report will also be made available on the internet at: http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/nrda/bird.pdf
In addition to reviewing information contained in the bird injury report, the meeting will also provide the opportunity for public feedback on that information.
The report explains how PCBs harm birds, the importance of Green Bay to birds, the importance of birds to Green Bay and contains a vast amount of data collected showing the levels of PCBs accumulated by Green Bay birds. The report also shows the amount of PCBs in Green Bay birds in comparison to toxic levels of PCBs, how and where they were exposed to PCBs, the relevance of data and studies for making legal determinations of bird injuries for the NRDA, and the implications of studies conducted on PCB injuries to Green Bay birds.
According to Service NRDA Specialist David Allen, Results found in this report are important to understanding why the government and tribes are working toward cleaning and restoring the Fox River and Green Bay. The report is a comprehensive, detailed scientific report showing how evidence of bird injuries will be used in the NRDA, and how it relates to the ecological risk assessment conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
He added, We will discuss these results in our meeting and invite public comment on those findings. The report is also provided to the public to help them understand the problems caused by local PCBs spread over thousands of square miles for decades, and to encourage their participation in helping to fix the problem in the best way possible.
The meeting is sponsored by the Fox River Intergovernmental Partnership, a group of six federal and state agencies, and two tribes. Under a July 1997 Memorandum of Agreement, this partnership agreed to work together to clean and restore the Lower Fox River. Partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Brown County Library is located at 515 Pine Street, downtown Green Bay. Parking is available at the library, located on the northwest corner of Monroe and Pine Streets. For more information, call David Allen, 920-465-7407 or Larry Dean 612-713-5312.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprising more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries 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 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://www.fws.gov/r3pao/
