The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has released a final report documenting natural resource values and conservation efforts within the Little Darby Creek Watershed in Madison County, Ohio. The report is part of the Services withdrawal of a proposal to establish a national wildlife refuge west of Columbus, Ohio.
A notice announcing the withdrawal of the refuge proposal and the availability of the final report will be published in the Federal Register in the next several days.
"Little Darby Creek Conservation Through Local Initiatives Final Report" is available in libraries in Madison, Champaign, Franklin and Clark Counties and is available online at: http://midwest.fws.gov/planning/ldarbytop.htm
The final report details the original Service interest in the diverse aquatic life in the creek and in the historic prairie habitats of the region and its grassland-dependent wildlife. It documents the planning process that the Service went through beginning in 1998, when the agency began work on an environmental assessment of the proposal to permanently preserve and restore grassland and aquatic habitats as well as farmland in the area.
The Services proposal to create a national wildlife refuge was accompanied by a public involvement process during which the Service gathered a wide range of input and opinion on the proposal. Many people in the local community were concerned about a Federal presence in the area and contended that they had been good stewards of the land and did not need a 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 to preserve the natural resources. The Service withdrew its proposal for a national wildlife refuge in March 2002. In withdrawing the proposal in favor of supporting local conservation initiatives, the Service decided to take the community at its word. The final report is intended to serve as an aid for those wishing to pursue agricultural and natural resource conservation in the Little Darby Creek Watershed.
"We hope that the final report is a useful resource to those who pursue conservation initiatives in the Little Darby Creek area," said Tom Larson, Chief of Ascertainment and Planning in Region 3. "The Little Darby Creek Watershed is worth preserving and we wish the community every success with local conservation action, whatever form that may take."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 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, visit our website at " facehttp://midwest.fws.gov
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