The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge has scheduled an additional public information meeting for Thursday, June 2 on the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan that will guide future management of the Refuge.
Refuge Manager Don Hultman said public interest in the plan will likely mean large turnouts at scheduled meetings, especially in the La Crosse area. The first La Crosse area meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, May 26 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Conference Center at Stoney Creek Inn, South Kinney Coulee Road, Onalaska. The meetings are preceded by an open house beginning at 5:30 p.m.
“ By adding another meeting, it will give more people a chance to attend and provide them another option should audience size and time limit the number of questions and comments that can be handled, “ Hultman said.
The June 2 meeting format will be identical to the 10 other public meetings that began last week in Clinton, IA. The June 2 meeting will also be held at the Conference Center at Stoney Creek Inn in Onalaska, with an open house from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. followed by a staff presentation on the draft plan and a question and answer session.
Hultman said the first round of meetings is aimed at providing information about the draft plan. Evening workshops starting in mid-June will focus on detailed public input and recommendations. He said additional workshops or special topic meetings will be scheduled in the near future.
“ We are trying to be adaptive to the needs of the public. Last night in Lansing, Iowa we agreed to hold a special workshop focused on Pool 9 at the request of folks at the meeting,” Hultman said.
Further information on the meetings or draft plan is available on the web at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/uppermiss or by calling the Refuge at (507) 452-4232.
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 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management 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 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.
