The Service today honored Jim Russell, of Waconia, Minnesota, for his cooperation in improving wetlands on his property in Cass County. Russells contributions to wetland conservation were recognized by Bill Hartwig, Service Regional Director, during a reception at the Services Twin Cities Field Office in Bloomington, Minnesota.
"It is clear that the more partners we can involve, the more successful our efforts will be in doing whats best for wildlife and people," Hartwig said. "Jim Russells willingness to develop and conserve part of his familys land for wildlife is a great example."
The success story started when the Services Twin Cities office, under the Natural Resources Damage Assessment program, received $22,000 in compensation for scrub-shrub wetland habitat lost during activities at the Kummer Sanitary Landfill in Bemidji. The plan to restore those resources called for a suitable wetland habitat replacement project under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
The Services Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge joined the effort and began looking for landowners interested in restoring similar scrub-shrub wetlands on their property. The partially drained wetlands on the forested Russell property provided the best opportunity to carry out the restoration project.
Scrub-shrub wetlands, such as those enhanced on Russells property, are important habitat for a variety of wildlife, including waterfowl and non-game birds. The project on Russells property included construction of a dike, creating additional open water and wetlands.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the primary Federal agency responsible for conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats. The agency carries out activities under the Natural Resources Damage Assessment program (NRDA) as well as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The Service also administers the National Wildlife Refuge system, a network of national fish hatcheries, and wildlife law enforcement programs.
NRDA is a program to recover damages for injuries to fish, wildlife, and other natural resources as a result of environmental contamination or other pollution, such as oil spills. Under NRDA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages some of the natural resource trustee responsibilities of the Department of the Interior, sometimes in partnership with states. Damages received are derived from parties responsible for the injury, and are devoted to restoring or replacing lost resources.
The North American Waterfowl Management Plan is a cooperative program among the Service other public and private partners to restore wetland habitats for migratory birds throughout the country.
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
