The flames of last night's fire ( June 23, 2004) that occurred near Bridge Street were wrongly blamed on the presence of a small endangered bird, the southwestern willow flycatcher. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fully supports and encourages the thinning of vegetation in the Bosque for fuel reduction purposes.
"Endangered species and the Act that protects them often bear the brunt of complaints about inaction due to restrictions," said Geoffrey L. Haskett, Deputy Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "In this case however, the Service gave full approval for the plans to thin the dense fuel wood buildup in the Bosque.?
The Endangered Species Act is very flexible when it comes to human health and safety and wildfires. "Protecting life and property always comes first," said Haskett.
Approximately three-fourths of the Bosque in Albuquerque has been treated to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The Service is an active participant on the Mayor's task force to address fire risk in the Bosque and has worked cooperatively with all partners to prioritize and expedite fuel reduction. The Service's Middle Rio Grande Bosque Initiative began funding the City of Albuquerque's Open Space Division in 2001 to reduce fuel loads in the bosque. This funding has supported a variety of fuels management activities, while assisting in the protection and restoration of a native bosque.
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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 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 and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-FWS-
