The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has scheduled four public hearings to solicit public comment upon draft documents that will be used to prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan to guide the management and operation of the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, an 860,000 acre refuge in southwest Arizona.
The hearings will be held:
- Monday, July 25 in Tucson at the Holiday Inn Palo Verde, at 4550 South Palo Verde Boulevard.
- Tuesday, July 26, in Sells at the Tohono O?odahm Tribal Council Chambers.
- Wednesday, July 27, in Ajo at the Ajo Community Center, Bud Walker Park, 290 West 5th Str.
- Thursday, July 28, in Yuma at the Yuma Civic and Convention Center, 1440 West Desert Hills Drive.
All hearings will begin at 7 p.m. with a brief informal presentation and discussion followed by formal public testimonies running until 9 p.m. Input is sought on the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan, Draft Wilderness Stewardship Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
The Service will also accept written comments submitted at the hearing, by mail, fax, or email until August 15, 2005. Address comments to: John Slown, Biologist/Conservation Planner, Division of Planning, Southwest Region National Wildlife Refuge System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87120. Electronic mail address is "john_slown@fws.gov. Fax number is 505-248-6874. All comments received will be addressed in the Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan, Wilderness Stewardship Plan and Environmental Impact Statement to be issued in 2006.
Copies of the draft documents are available in advance by calling 505-248-7458 or they can be accessed on the internet at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/Plan/completeplans.html.
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 by Executive Order to protect wildlife and forage resources of the Sonoran Desert. In 1990 approximately 93 percent of the refuge land area was designated Federal Wilderness by the Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990.
The refuge is mainly comprised of Sonoran Desert, including mountains, broad desert valleys, and bajadas. The refuge and adjacent federal lands, including the Organ Pipe National Monument, managed by the U.S. National Park Service, and the USAF Barry M. Goldwater Range military training area, comprise the United States? range of the endangered Sonoran pronghorn. The desert bighorn sheep is another species of conservation interest occurring on the refuge.
Five management alternatives for the refuge have been evaluated. All management alternatives implement recovery actions for the endangered Sonoran pronghorn. The alternatives differ primarily in the level of active management intervention proposed to support the desert bighorn sheep. The first alternative is ?no action? or continuance of current refuge management. Under this alternative, the refuge would continue to offer a limited desert bighorn sheep hunt each year in cooperation with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Refuge staff would continue to maintain and supply supplemental water to exiting developed waters (constructed or enhanced waterholes) in desert bighorn sheep and Sonoran pronghorn habitat. The second alternative focuses on limiting management interventions within refuge wilderness. Under this alternative, developed wildlife waters in sheep habitat within the refuge wilderness would not be maintained or supplied with supplemental water. The desert bighorn sheep hunt would also be discontinued. The third alternative includes limited management intervention in wilderness. Under this alternative, the refuge would supply supplemental water to developed waters in sheep habitat within refuge wilderness only during periods of severe drought. The desert bighorn sheep hunt would be continued, but no hunting would be allowed during years of severe drought. The fourth alternative, identified as the Service's proposed alternative, would allow continued maintenance and water supply to existing developed waters in sheep habitat within refuge wilderness and would include projects to increase the water collection efficiency of such waters. The refuge desert bighorn sheep hunt program would continue unchanged under this alternative. The fifth alternative would include the maximum management intervention within refuge wilderness. Under this alternative all existing developed waters in refuge wilderness would be maintained and supplied with water, and new developed waters would be created. The desert bighorn sheep hunt program would continue unchanged under this alternative.
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-
