The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has drafted two options for creating a Neches River National Wildlife Refuge in Anderson and Cherokee counties to conserve and manage declining bottomland hardwood forests. The options are analyzed in an Environmental Assessment which is now available for review and comment. Two public meetings will be scheduled for May in Jacksonville and Palestine.
One option includes up to 25,281 acres and another would include up to 15,294. Both would encompass the crucial riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian areas. The larger choice would include uplands, provide for water quality protection and more wildlife diversity. Hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and interpretation, photography and education would most likely be offered under either scenario although a larger refuge offers more hunting and fishing opportunities. A third, no-action scenario analyzes the consequences of not establishing the refuge.
Once the public has an opportunity to review and comment on the Environmental Assessment and any resulting changes are made, the package is submitted to the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Director makes the final decision on whether to establish a refuge and, if so, what alternative to use in designating refuge boundaries. Only after the Director has approved the proposal, would the Service be able to enter into any negotiations to purchase lands within the specified areas from willing sellers. The Service buys from willing sellers only. The establishment of a refuge does not affect private landowners with no interest in selling their land.
"Bottomland hardwood conservation measures in east Texas is not new," said National Wildlife Refuge Division of Planning Chief, Tom Baca. "The Upper Neches River area has been identified as far back as 1985 as an important wetland area with prime wildlife. We?ve been examining possible conservation measures for the Neches River system with partners, such as the Texas Parks and Wildlife, for some time. This is a very unique and exceptional natural area."
The proposal for establishing a National Wildlife Refuge was introduced to the public in August 2004.
Copies of the publication (print or CD) are available by calling 505-248-6813 or writing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at PO Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM, 87103, attn: Division of Planning, National Wildlife Refuge System. It is also available on the internet at: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/Plan/index.html.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services national mission is to fulfill, conserve, protect and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. "We will proceed to conserve for tomorrows generation of Americans, those fish, wildlife and habitat resources that are slowly but surely disappearing," said Baca.
2The 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-
