The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has begun scoping for the long-range conservation of natural resources at Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located in Liberty County, Texas. Trinity River is in the early stages of its planning process. Written comments and suggestions will be accepted through November 30.
The Service will be gathering many types of information in order to assist planners and managers in the development of future management alternatives, goals, objectives and strategies for the future of Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge. Elements considered in the planning process generally include habitat and wildlife management, habitat protection, land acquisition, public and recreational uses, and cultural resources.
"We can expect the plan development to be about a two- year process," said Aaron Archibeque, Refuge Supervisor. "We are very interested in the viewpoints of people living in the area and anyone even on a national scale who may have some concern about what the Service does on its refuge lands."
The Service prepares master plans, called comprehensive conservation plans, for its national wildlife refuges. The plans formalize management goals, long-range objectives, and strategies for achieving refuge purposes and cover a 15-year period.
The refuge was established for "the conservation of the wetlands of the Nation in order to maintain the public benefits they provide and to help fulfill international obligations contained in various migratory bird treaties and conventions" in 1994. Situated along the lower Trinity River, the refuge currently consists of 22,000 acres of remnant bottomland hardwood forest, that provides important breeding, wintering and stopover habitat for 50 percent of the neotropical migratory bird species listed by the Service. For more information, visit http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/trinityriver/.
Anyone interested in submitting ideas concerning the future of the refuge may send remarks or comments to Yvette Truitt-Ortiz, Biologist/ Natural Resource Planner. Comments may be sent by email to "Yvette_TruittOrtiz@fws.gov, sent via fax to 505-248-6874 or by mail to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Refuges, Region 2, P. O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103-1306.
