Its taken a long time, but this is a dream come true, said Ed Britton, manager of the Savanna District office of the Services Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. In addition to the new learning center, the 4,100 square foot facility will house the administrative office of the Savanna district and a public visitor center. We started planning our new facility over 10 years ago, Britton said. We had been located in the basement of the Savanna Post Office for nearly 50 years, and it was clearly time to move to a new modern and more accessible facility.
The construction of the new facility became a priority after Bea Ingersoll, the mother of Gary and David, pointed out in 1996 that the basement office was not wheelchair accessible. Both Gary and David were wheelchair users and shared an interest in the environment. Subsequently, over $500,000 was allocated to the project, and construction began in 1999 and was completed in January of 2000.
The grand opening will begin with the dedication ceremony at 9:00 a.m. and continue until 4:00 p.m. with International Migratory Bird Day demonstrations, tours, childrens activities and presentations by local conservation groups. Members of the Ingersoll family and Congressman Lane Evans are expected to attend the dedication ceremony. Along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the event is sponsored by Clinton Community College, the Savanna Times Journal, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Jackson County Conservation Board, and the Friends of the Upper Mississippi River Refuges.
We encourage everyone to come out and make a day of it, said Britton. The refuge is also open to birders prior to the event, so grab your binoculars and come out.
Contact the refuge directly at (815) 273-2732 for more information or to receive directions to the event.
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 Services manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System of more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management assistance offices, 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 HomePage at: http://midwest.fws.gov
