Patten will manage operations at the 18,281-acre refuge that includes both the Mille Lacs NWR and the Sandstone Unit. The Rice Lake NWR was established in 1935 and is one of 11 national wildlife refuges in Minnesota. The refuge includes Rice Lake, a 4500-acre lake, which attracts a variety of migratory birds and is noted for its abundant supply of wild rice. The main objectives of the refuge are to provide habitat for wildlife, waterfowl and other migratory birds in addition to providing recreational and educational opportunities for visitors.
Patten comes to the Rice Lake NWR from Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge in Walden, Colo., where he served as refuge manager for 20 years. Pattens career with the Service began in 1966 as a wildlife biologist at the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge in Cassville, Wisc. He has also served as assistant wetland manager at Devils Lake Wetland Management District in North Dakota.Patten has a clear objective in mind, to create partnerships and look at the entire resource. His experience, he says, has taught him that refuge managers need to ensure they do not get tunnel vision and concentrate solely on what is happening on the refuge. We (refuge managers) need to listen to and work with as many partners as we can. Individuals, local, state and federal agencies need to use good judgment, common sense and work together to ensure we do what is best for the resource and the ecosystem as a whole.
The Waseca, Minn., native developed his interest in fish and wildlife during hunting and fishing trips throughout Minnesota. He graduated from Mankato State University with bachelors degrees in biology and business administration. He continued his education with graduate courses at Mankato State University and the University of Minnesota. Both Patten, and his wife, Rosella, have family ties to Minnesota and North Dakota. I am very excited about the opportunity to come home and be closer to my family and the resources I grew up with, explained Patten.
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
