The preliminary management alternatives for Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's Revised Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan are available for public review and comment. Comments are requested by April 15, 2005 and may be sent electronically by visiting http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/KenaiPMA.cfm or by mail to Rob Campellone at the address noted above.
The list of alternatives may be viewed via the Internet at http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/pdf/KenaiPlanUpdate3.pdf . The alternatives address the following issues:
- Management of large-scale habitat changes and the use of fire as a management tool
- Management of public use facilities
- Enhancement of wildlife-oriented recreation opportunities
- Management of increasing public use
- Management of motorized and non-motorized use
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated a planning process to revise the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan in winter, 2003. The public was asked to help identify issues pertaining to the management of Refuge resources. Over 300 public responses were received and 13 significant planning issues were identified. The Service has developed a range of preliminary management alternatives which demonstrate a variety of management approaches to address identified issues.
Once the planning team receives public comments on the preliminary management alternatives, they will develop a final range of alternatives, assess the beneficial and detrimental effects of each by conducting an Environmental Impact Analysis, and select a Preferred Alternative. This Preferred Alternative, and several others, will be presented in the Draft Revised Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for further comment by the public.
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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.
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For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov">"
