A question-and-answer session is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2000, at the Northwest Conference Center, which is located at 7510 Montgomery Drive in Plain City, Ohio. This session will be an opportunity for the public to ask Service representatives questions about the five alternatives examined in the draft EIS as well as to ask questions about the information contained in the draft EIS.
A public hearing is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2000, also at the Northwest Center in Plain City. A public hearing is part of the EIS process and will be an opportunity for people to have their comments about the proposal and the EIS recorded in a formal setting. These comments will become part of the final EIS. Individuals who wish to speak at the public hearing will be asked to sign in and due to the expected high attendance, each speaker will be allotted three minutes for comments.
Both the public hearing and the question-and-answer session will be facilitated, and a court reporter will transcribe all comments at the public hearing.
The 60-day review period for the draft EIS began July 28 and will end Sept. 28. Individuals reviewing the document are invited to comment on its completeness and accuracy.
The proposed refuge would restore and preserve fish and wildlife habitat within the Little Darby Creek watershed, a unique warm water basin of the larger Darby Creek watershed. Five alternatives are considered in the draft EIS, including four "action" alternatives, which propose different configurations of a 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 , and one "no action" alternative, which examines the impacts of not establishing a national wildlife refuge. A copy of the draft EIS is available at http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/planning/ldeis1.htm Copies are also available at local libraries in the area. The EIS process is allowing additional evaluation of the issues and opportunities associated with the proposal beyond an initially prepared draft Environmental Assessment published in November 1999.
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 comprised of more than 500 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 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 website at: http://midwest.fws.gov
