The open house is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Celebrations Banquet and Convention Center. The facility is located at 209 West Oak Street in Watseka.
A comprehensive conservation plan is being developed to guide future development and management of the refuge. Planning is in the preliminary stages and is focused on an area in northeastern Iroquois County adjacent to the Iroquois County Conservation Area. An environmental assessment to evaluate the impacts of developing a new 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 in Illinois and Indiana was completed in August 1999. The comprehensive conservation plan is an addendum to that document and will serve as an operating plan to guide refuge development and management.
Public involvement is vital to the Services ability to develop a plan that guides Refuge management in a manner that is both responsible to natural resource conservation and responsive to the interests of the local community. Representatives of the Service will be available throughout the open house to answer questions about the Refuge and the comprehensive conservation planning process. Anyone interested in the future of the Refuge is encouraged to attend.
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 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 more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://midwest.fws.gov">
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | | | | | | |
