The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hosting two informational meetings in August on the Etowah Aquatic Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).
Thirteen local governments, including Bartow, Cherokee, Paulding and Pickens counties, submitted the conservation plan to the FWS to facilitate development while protecting three fish species, the federally endangered Etowah and amber darters and the threatened Cherokee darter. The plan is available for public comment through August 31.
Both public meetings will start with a one-hour poster session where attendees can learn more about the plan and ask questions. The FWS will then give a presentation on the plan and provide an opportunity for attendees to make comments. The meetings will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m.
Since the meetings are not formal hearings, any comments made will need to be provided in writing to the FWS for consideration of the local governments applications for incidental take permits under the Etowah Aquatic HCP.
August 4, 2009
Cartersville Public Library
429 West Main Street
Cartersville, GA 30120
5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.August 11, 2009
R.T. Jones Memorial Library
116 Brown Industrial Parkway
Canton, GA 30114
5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
For more information on the Etowah HCP, go to . In addition, a July 7 news release on this topic is attached. Comments on the HCP may be mailed to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Regional Office at 1875 Century Blvd., Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30345, or e-mailed to david_dell@fws.gov.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit http://www.fws.gov/southeast/ or http://www.fws.gov/ .
Attachment: Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Comment on Protecting Darters in the Etowah River Basin (news release, June 7, 2009)
