As manager, Wehrle will oversee day-to-day operations on the 11,521-acre refuge, as well as lead an ongoing effort to restore native tallgrass prairie to western Minnesota and Iowa.
"Since I was a kid Ive always been interested in the tallgrass prairie," Wehrle said. "This job not only represents a great professional opportunity for me, but lets me work at something Ive been interested in since I joined the service: restoring tallgrass prairie." As far as his plans for other refuge issues, Wehrle said "You can ask me in a month, Im still learning the ropes here and Ive learned not to make any big plans until you spend time getting to know the landscape."
Born in Creation, Iowa, Wehrle returns to the Midwest from southeast Texas, where he managed the 55,000-acre McFaddin NWR and the 8,900-acre Texas Point NWR both on the Gulf Coast. Wehrle is a certified wildlife biologist and holds a bachelors degree in wildlife management from the University of Missouri and a masters degree in wildlife management from Mississippi State University. He has also worked at Dahomey NWR in Mississippi, and the Daphne, Ecological Services Field Office in Alabama. Wehrle, will reside in Ortonville, Minn., with his wife and two children.
Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1975 and consists of wetlands, grasslands and large tracts of native prairie. The refuge is the wintering home for more than 1,200 whitetail deer and contains Minnesotas only population of ball cactus (Mammilaria vivipara). Among the refuges other unique characteristics is the lichen covered granite outcrops from which the refuge got its name. The refuge receives approximately 30,000 visitors annually who use the refuge for hiking, hunting, fishing, environmental education and to observe wildlife.
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 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 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 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
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