No specific date for the opening of the office has been set, but Service officials expect the office to be operating sometime this summer. Doug Spencer, currently the Services refuge manager at Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge in north central Michigan, will serve as interim manager at the Detroit River refuge.
The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge was created in December 2001, and is the first international refuge in North America. The refuge is a result of an unprecedented partnership of government agencies, businesses, conservation groups, landowners and private citizens on both sides of the border. The refuge is also a key component of the Downriver Linked Greenways Initiative, a community-based program that seeks to build "green" infrastructure and create outdoor recreational opportunities in Wayne County, Michigan. The public-private partnership gained momentum over the past year through a series of cooperative agreements, land exchanges and acquisitions involving governments, private businesses, citizens and conservation groups.
"As managers of the refuge, we will reach out and engage partners and citizens and involve them in the planning process to help us plot conservation and recreation decisions for the future of the refuge," said Spencer. "As a new member of the National Wildlife Refuge System, it is our policy to make areas of this refuge open to hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental education and environmental interpretation."
The Lower Detroit River contains shipping channels, shoals and islands that serve as habitat for numerous fish and wildlife. Located at the intersection of the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways, an estimated three million ducks, geese, swans and coots migrate annually through the region. More than 300,000 diving ducks stop each year to feed on wild celery beds in the river. The Canada-United States North American Waterfowl Management Plan has identified the Detroit River as one of 34 waterfowl habitat areas of major concern in the U.S. and Canada.(Lower Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin).
The Detroit River is also known for its duck hunting and fishing, activities the Service plans to continue on parts of the refuge.
"Among our goals is to establish plans that provide ample opportunities for hunting and fishing while incorporating refuge goals and conserving habitat," Spencer said. "Long term, restoring habitat on refuge land will benefit hunters and fishers all along the river."
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.
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