What: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would like to hear from residents and communities in the Great Lakes about its proposal to designate critical habitat for the piping plover, an imperiled shorebird that inhabits the shorelines of eight states in the Great Lakes ecosystem. The Service published the proposal in the Federal Register on June 30, and will be soliciting and accepting public comments until August 29, 2000.
A series of public information meeting and hearings will be held in seven communities of the Great Lakes. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists will be on hand to answer questions about the proposal. Participants will be able to view a video and exhibits about this rare shorebird, and provide comments to the Service on the proposal.
When: Thursday, July 20th
6:00-7:00 p.m. Information meeting
7:00-9:00 p.m. Public hearing
Where: Grand Traverse Civic Center, 1213 West Civic Center Drive, Traverse City, Michigan
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 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.
-FWS-
