Representatives of the Department of Defense, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding today that will help manage natural resources on military installations, under provisions of the Sikes Act.
The Sikes Act was enacted in 1960 to promote sustained multipurpose use of natural resources on lands controlled by the Department of Defense, and requires development and implementation of an Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan (INRMP) for each installation with "significant natural resources." The development and planning of INRMPs is accomplished in coordination with the Service and appropriate State fish and wildlife agencies.
The management plans consider a variety of natural resource uses and encourage public access to military reservations for hunting, fishing and birding, when appropriate.
"Im pleased that our agency is a part of this effort," said Dale Hall, Service Director. "Were grateful that the Sikes Act helps us address so many important resource issues, and were proud to be a partner with the Department of Defense and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies."
The signatories developed the document, which encourages additional coordination and discusses cooperative elements of the Sikes Act, as well as calling for establishment of INRMP implementation teams.
The MOU further describes the roles, responsibilities and operating authorities of the parties to the agreement; includes a provision that formalizes the Sikes Act core Group, which consists of representatives from the three agencies who will meet at least quarterly and contains provisions that encourage the development of Sikes Act partnership teams and cooperative funding agreements.
Military installations often include relatively large areas of wildlife habitat, wetlands and vital ecosystems that host marine mammals, rare flora, more than 320 threatened and endangered species and diverse archaeological and historical sites and historic buildings, and the Sikes Act helps preserve all of those assets.
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, 64 fishery resource 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.
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"36pt>For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
36pt>visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov
