The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has drafted different options for creating a federal Neches River National Wildlife Refuge in Anderson and Cherokee counties in Texas to conserve and manage declining bottomland hardwood forests. The options will be presented at public meetings in Jacksonville and Palestine to allow citizens to share their thoughts and concerns.
One meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10, at the Jacksonville College Cafeteria located at 105 B.J. Albritton Drive, Jacksonville. The second meeting will be held Wednesday, May 11, at the Palestine Convention and Visitors Bureau located at 1819 Spring Street (the intersection of Loop 256 and Highway 287/19 north) Palestine. Both meetings run from 7 to 9 p.m.
The evening consists of a short presentation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the process of acquiring land from willing sellers should the project be approved by the Director of the Service. A half hour will be dedicated to answering any questions about the project. The final portion of the meeting will be for formally capturing attendees? comments.
All public comments received by May 13 will be considered. Once any resulting changes are made, the package is submitted to the Director of the Service. The Director makes the final decision on whether to establish a refuge and, if so, which option 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.
Copies of the options (print or CD) are available in advance 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 or on the internet at: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/Plan/index.html. Click on Completed Plans and Drafts.
The proposal for establishing a National Wildlife Refuge was introduced to the public in August 2004.
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-
