In October 2004, Paul Cornes assumed management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona following his move from the Service's southwest regional headquarters in Albuquerque. Cornes took over from Ray Varney who retired after six years at the refuge.
The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is located in southwest Arizona east of U.S. Highway 95 between Yuma and Quartzsite and encompasses more than 665,000 acres (including 510,900 of designated Wilderness) of diverse desert landscape and two mountain ranges. It hosts a healthy desert bighorn sheep population. Bighorn sheep are regularly transplanted sheep from the refuge to supplement or establish herds in other parts of Arizona and other states.
The refuge's administrative headquarters are located in Yuma at 356 West First Street. Plans are being made to construct a new office complex on BLM lands east of Yuma. The facility will accommodate the current staff of seven, and provide for future growth. It will have state-of-the-art shop and maintenance facilities, trailer and volunteer pads, and provide a variety of educational and interpretive opportunities through indoor and outdoor exhibits. The new facility will be located on 28th street just east of 9E, adjacent to the Regional Office of Arizona Game and Fish Department. The facility is currently in the planning and design phase and construction is slated to begin in 2006.
"The facility will be an excellent addition to the growing community of Yuma. It is an opportunity to bring a remote refuge with valuable and unique resources to the people of Yuma. Our expanded educational and interpretative activities at the new facility will help to achieve this goal," said Cornes. "The Service will also be working with the City of Yuma to facilitate the transfer of the current facility to the City for redevelopment.?
Priorities for the new manager include completion of the new office, strengthening the agency's relationship with its numerous partners, building a strong and active friends group, acquisition and restoration of critical inholdings, maintaining a strong biological and research program, and expanding hunt programs and other recreation opportunities of the public.
"I was impressed with Paul's business acumen and his initiative during the years he worked in the Regional Office," said Gary Montoya, Refuge Supervisor for Arizona and New Mexico. "He also has a strong customer service orientation and employee relations skills which are essential for a refuge manager. I selected him because of his command of these important skills and his realty background, which will be a help with the inholdings on the refuge.?
Cornes was the Assistant Refuge Supervisor to the 43 refuges located in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. In that position, he spent most of his time on land acquisition oversight and coordinating management, budget and policy initiatives between the individual refuges and the national office. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in forestry from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. He and his wife, Susan, have made their home in Yuma.
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2 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.
-http://southwest.fws.gov-
