Public comments accepted until October 15, 2009
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking input from the public in the development of a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) that will guide the management of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for the next 15 years. The CCP will include guidance for improving resource protection and management on the Refuge while providing appropriate wildlife dependent activities, support facilities and other programs.
Malheur Refuge, near Burns, Oregon, consists of over 187,000 acres of marsh, river and stream, wetlands, springs, riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian areas, irrigated meadows and uplands. The Refuge provides significant migratory and breeding habitat for a wide variety of species and is well-known to birders in Oregon and elsewhere in the United States.
“The planning process is a way for the Service and the public to evaluate management goals and objectives that will ensure the best approach to wildlife, plant and habitat conservation, while providing for compatible wildlife-dependent recreation opportunities,” said Refuge Manager Tim Bodeen.
As a first step, the Refuge staff has conducted a biological review of the refuge. Scientists, land managers and citizens attended the June review and provided suggestions to refuge managers on future management. In late July, a similar review occurred with recreation specialists to discuss recreation management issues and options.
The CCP will be prepared together with an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will describe a range of alternatives for future management and predict the environmental consequences anticipated under each alternative. All public and economic uses will be reviewed for compatibility with the Refuge’s purposes.
“Public participation during the planning process is essential,” Bodeen said. “We welcome input by tribal, state and local governments, agencies, organizations and the public.”
The refuge is seeking input in the form of issues, concerns, ideas and suggestions for the future management of Malheur Refuge. The Service will manage the refuge’s CCP process to maximize opportunities for public involvement to help inform decision-making. The Service has contracted with the Oregon Consensus Program (OCP), a state-funded agency that assists public agencies and others in convening collaborative processes.
The OCP will work with interested organizations, including the High Desert Partnership, a neutral, non-partisan organization that addresses challenges in Harney County, Oregon, to engage others to provide expertise, information and feedback to the Service.
“Our intent is to develop a CCP that is consistent with refuge system law and policy and supported by the diverse parties with interests in the refuge,” Bodeen said.
If you or your organization is interested in meeting with refuge staff, please contact Tim Bodeen at 541-493-2612. More information about the planning process and the refuge is available at the refuge website at http://www.fws.gov/malheur/. Comments may be submitted to the refuge at the website or mailed to the refuge at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 36391 Sodhouse Lane, Princeton, OR 97221. Please submit comments by October 15, 2009.
The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the worlds premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve Americas fish, wildlife and plants. Since President Theodore Roosevelt designated Florida’s Pelican as the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the System has grown to more than 96 million acres, 548 refuges and 37 wetland management districts nationwide.
