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 northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana has been developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is now available for public review and comment. The environmental assessment includes a study of the economic impacts of the proposed refuge.
Copies of the draft environmental assessment are available for review at public libraries throughout the Kankakee River watershed. Comments on the draft document will be accepted through April 21, 1998. A list of libraries where the Environmental Assessment is available is attached. In addition, the document may be viewed on the Services worldwide web site at www.fws.gov/~r3pao/ext_affr/news.htm
The draft environmental assessment is the culmination of a vigorous public involvement effort for this refuge proposal, said David Hudak, Field Supervisor for the Services Bloomington, Indiana, field office. Over the past 18 months, we have conducted three public meetings, met with dozens of interested groups and numerous individuals in Indiana and Illinois, and encouraged public comment through periodic updates to an extensive mailing list. We continue to urge the public to learn more about this proposal and to comment on the draft document.
The proposed Grand Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge includes 30,000 acres within the 3.3-million-acre Kankakee River watershed. The draft environmental assessment analyzes several issues such as the proposed refuges effects on water quality in the Kankakee River; diversity and abundance of Service trust resources (migratory birds and endangered species); drainage and flood control in the watershed; county tax revenues and Service revenue sharing payments; the agricultural economy; and private property rights of landowners within the watershed. The Service identified these issues through the public comment process during development of the assessment.
The draft environmental assessment also suggests a management direction for the new refuge if it is approved. The purpose of the refuge would be for the development, advancement, management, conservation, and protection of fish and wildlife resources. Broad goals outlined for the proposed refuge in the environmental assessment include restoring, where practical, native species of plants and animals that are or may become threatened or endangered; conserving the migratory bird resource; maintaining a diversity of plants and animals on lands within the proposed refuge; encouraging public understanding and appreciation of fish and wildlife and their habitats; and providing wildlife-oriented recreation activities when compatible with the purpose of the refuge.
In analyzing the impacts of the proposed refuge, the Service looked at a range of alternatives for the refuge. A no-action alternative (not establishing a refuge and continuing current efforts to conserve and restore the Kankakee Rivers resources) was considered, along with four action alternatives that focus on conservation of endangered species, protection of wetlands, conservation of grasslands and oak savannas in the watershed, and a combination of these. The Services preferred strategy would be to establish the refuge to focus on a combination of resources.
An economic impact assessment prepared by Purdue University is included in the environmental assessment. The economic study examines the four action alternatives and the direct and indirect impacts that would occur from a change in land use if a refuge is established. The study projects impacts over a 30-year period and concludes that refuge establishment would result in an increase in net personal income and employment in the watershed over 30 years.
The proposal for a national wildlife refuge in the Kankakee River watershed comes at a time when many species of wildlife associated with the areas wetlands and grasslands, including many songbirds and shorebirds, are declining. The Kankakee River basin supports five Federally endangered plants and animals: Mitchells satyr butterfly, Indiana bat, copperbelly watersnake, Meads milkweed, and eastern prairie-fringed orchid, as well as 75 state-listed species.
The habitats upon which these species depend are also declining. The Kankakee watershed once contained one of the most important freshwater wetlands in the world, rivaling Floridas Everglades in the diversity of fish and wildlife it supported. Only remnants of the marsh now remain. Indiana and Illinois have lost 87 percent and 85 percent, respectively, of their historic wetlands, and just 1 percent remains of the vast tallgrass prairie that once stretched from western Indiana and Illinois to Texas.
Comments on the draft environmental assessment for the proposed Grand Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge will be accepted through April 21, 1998. Public comments received by the Service will be addressed in a final environmental assessment. A decision on the refuge proposal will be made once the final assessment is completed. Comments may be directed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Branch of Planning and Ascertainment, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056 or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403-2121. For more information on the refuge proposal or the draft environmental assessment, call 812-334-4261.
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
