The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, located near Necedah, Wis., will receive $3.518 million in the fiscal year 2007 federal budget to apply toward the construction of a new visitor center.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Regional Director Robyn Thorson expressed her gratitude to numerous partners for their unwavering support of Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Refuge Manager Larry Wargowsky, the Refuge Friends Group, citizens of Juneau County and the Wisconsin Congressional delegation have made this visitor center a priority for many years,” said Thorson. “Thanks to all their hard work and persistence, the Refuge and all of Juneau County can now reap the benefits this premier refuge and new visitor center will bring to the entire area.”
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge Manager Larry Wargowsky extended his appreciation to Congressman Ron Kind, Congressman David Obey, Senator Herb Kohl, Senator Russ Feingold and the numerous groups and individuals who have supported the refuge over the years. “This refuge receives incredible support from our Friends Group, volunteers, local communities and visitors,” said Wargowsky. “All these people played an important role in helping us get a new visitor center. This will be a great addition to the refuge and a tremendous asset to the citizens of Necedah and all the communities of Juneau County.”
Local support for the refuge has been very high. The nearby Village of Necedah and the Necedah Lions Club have played an active role in supporting and celebrating the refuge by hosting an annual Whooping Crane Festival for the past six years. The festival celebrates the refuge’s success as part of a whooping crane reintroduction project. Endangered whooping cranes are raised at the refuge and trained to follow ultralight aircraft on a migration from Necedah to Florida. The cranes then use their natural migratory instinct to return to Necedah each spring.
The 44,000-acre Necedah National Wildlife Refuge is also home to wolves, deer, waterfowl and many other species of wildlife, fish and birds. The refuge is open to hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and hosts environmental education and interpretation events throughout the year. More than 160,000 people visit the refuge each year.
According to Wargowsky, the refuge’s environmental education and interpretation program will reach an even wider audience with the addition of a new visitor center. “A new visitor center should greatly increase the number of people who come to visit the refuge, and local communities, bringing a boost to local economies and allowing us to highlight the wonderful natural resources of the area to a greater audience.”
Regional Director Robyn Thorson added that funding this visitor center reflects the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s commitment to services that provide people, especially children, opportunities to connect with nature. “This project has remained a priority, even during this time of constrained budgets in the National Wildlife Refuge System, because we recognize the long-term importance of providing services to the American public that help them connect with our Nation’s spectacular natural resources.”
Planning for the construction of the new visitor center will begin soon.
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.
