The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the availability of a draft economic analysis and environmental assessment on a proposal to designate revised critical habitat for the wintering population of the www.fws.gov/nc-es/piplch/piplch.html, or you may call 919/856-4520 for a copy.
Written comments on the proposal and the economic analysis and environmental assessment should be submitted to: Wintering Piping Plover Critical Habitat Comments, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Post Office Box 33726, Raleigh, NC 27636-3726. Comments may also be sent electronically to ncplovercomments@fws.gov or faxed to 919/856-4556.
In addition, the Service has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed amended critical habitat designation and the draft economic analysis and environmental assessment. The hearing will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on June 20, 2007, at the Fessenden Center, 46830 Highway 12, Buxton, Dare County, North Carolina. The hearing will be preceded by a public information session from 4 to 5 p.m., at the same location. The hearing will be preceded by a public information session from 4 to 5 p.m., at the same location. Maps of the proposal and other materials will be available for public review.
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 comprised of more than 547 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 Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
