The Wildlife Science Center, a wildlife research and education facility, has received the prestigious Silver Eagle Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region. Deputy Regional Director Charlie Wooley presented the award to Wildlife Science Center Director Peggy Callahan during a ceremony today at the center’s Forest Lake, Minn., facility.
Recognizing people and organizations that have made an impressive contribution to wildlife conservation and management, the Silver Eagle Award is the highest honor given by the Service’s Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region.
“ This award honors the Wildlife Science Center for its larger contribution to wolf conservation,” Wooley said. “For if it weren’t for facilities like this, we would not be in a position to propose removing the gray wolf from the Endangered Species list in the first place.
“ We honor your steadfast dedication helping us better understand wolves. We honor your passion for these mysterious creatures,” he said.
The Wildlife Science Center has been a key contributor to wolf conservation in the Midwest. Established as a federally-funded wolf research facility, the center houses 37 gray wolves and 10 red wolves, using these captive wolves as educational tools and assisting state and federal environmental agencies in the United States and Canada by accepting animals that would otherwise be destroyed.
The center is involved in the captive breeding program for the Mexican gray wolf and the red wolf as well as the eastern population of gray wolves, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to remove from the Endangered Species list. The center also conducts training for wildlife biologists and is involved in wolf research. The center’s primary goal is to provide education programs for students from kindergarten through high school.
In addition to more than 40 wolves, the Wildlife Science Center also home to raptors, bobcats, black bears and gray fox.
On July 16, the Wildlife Science Center provided the setting for Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s announcement of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to delist the Eastern population of the gray wolf.
“ Not the least of these contributions was your extraordinary effort in partnering with us on the announcement of the proposed delisting of the wolf in July,” Wooley said. “Your contributions of your grounds, staff and volunteer time to set up for and execute this event are among the reasons why we honor you today.”
Wooley presented Callahan with a framed Silver Eagle Award certificate, a silver eagle pin and a letter of congratulations from Great Lakes-Big Rivers Regional Director Robyn Thorson.
More information about the Wildlife Science Center may be found on the Web at http://www.wildlifesciencecenter.org.
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.
