Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
Savanna District
7071 Riverview Road
Thomson, IL 61285
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ed Britton (815) 273-2732 ext 11
April 28, 2005
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Releases Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan For Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has released for public review and comment a draft of the Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan articulates issues and presents management alternatives for the refuge which extends for 261 miles of Mississippi River floodplain from Wabasha, Minn. to Rock Island, Ill.
From May 16 to June 23, the refuge will host a series of public information meetings and workshops at select communities that border the refuge to inform refuge neighbors, visitors and interested groups about the numerous issues and management alternatives presented in the Plan. The Plan will guide management of the refuge for the next 15 years.
Public information meetings will include an open house segment, a presentation of key issues and alternatives being considered, and a question and answer session. The public workshops will use a small group format for discussion of alternatives and group reporting of ideas and concerns. Special topic public meetings will be scheduled as needed during the 120-day comment period. Alternatives being considered in the draft Plan include “no action,” a “wildlife” focus, a “public use” focus, and “wildlife with integrated public use” focus.
“The draft plan is an important step in the planning process that began nearly three years ago with public involvement that helped us to identify issues and public concerns for the refuge,” said Refuge Manager Don Hultman. “We will continue to involve the public and other agencies as we move closer to deciding on a management alternative that benefits wildlife and provides for quality experiences for the millions of people who visit the refuge each year.”
Dates and locations of public information meetings and workshops are listed below. Information meetings begin with an open house from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m. Workshops begin at 5:30 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m.
Date Location Type
May 16 Clinton Community College, Room 10 Information Meeting
Business & Industrial Center, Clinton, Iowa
May 17 House of Events, 108 Main Street, Information Meeting
Savanna, Illinois
May 18 Grand River Center, Room 6, 500 Bell St. Information Meeting
Dubuque, Iowa
May 19 Prairie du Chien High School, Prairie du Chien, Wis. Information Meeting
May 23 Kurnt Bros. Community Room, Lansing, Iowa Information Meeting
May 24 American Legion Post 315, Stoddard, Wis. Information Meeting
May 25 American Legion Club Room, La Crescent, Minn. Information Meeting
May 26 Eagle Bluff Elementary School, Onalaska, Wis. Information Meeting
May 31 Winona Middle School, Winona, Minn. Information Meeting
June 1 Wabasha-Kellogg High School, Wabasha, Minn. Information Meeting
June 13 Winona Middle School, Winona, Minn. Workshop
June 14 Wabasha-Kellogg High School, Wabasha, Minn. Workshop
June 16 Prairie du Chien High School, Prairie du Chien, Wis. Workshop
June 21 House of Events, (108 Main St.) Savanna, Ill. Workshop
June 22 American Legion Post 315, Stoddard, Wis. Workshop
June 23 Onalaska Middle School, Onalaska, Wis. Workshop
An Executive Summary of the draft Plan has been mailed to nearly 3,000 citizens and organizations that expressed an interest during earlier public involvement. Additional copies of the summary can be requested by calling the refuge headquarters toll free 1-888-291-5719 or 507-452-4232 within the 507 area code.
The complete draft Plan and a summary can be viewed on the Internet at the Service’s Planning Website: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/uppermiss/
The draft Plan can also be viewed at 52 public libraries in communities near the refuge, or at refuge district offices in Savanna, Ill.; McGregor, Iowa; La Crosse, Wis.; and Winona, Minn. Written comments on the draft Plan will be accepted by the Service until August 31, 2005, at the following address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attn: CCP Comment, Room 101, 51 East Fourth Street, Winona, MN 55987.
With more than 3 million visitors per year, the “Upper Miss” Refuge is the most visited refuge in the country and has the added complexity of a major navigation system, including 11 locks and dams within its boundary. It is also a world-class fish and wildlife area which harbors 306 species of birds; 119 species of fish; more than 130 active bald eagle nests; thousands of heron and egret nests; spectacular concentrations of canvasback ducks, tundra swans, and white pelicans; and several threatened or endangered species.
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 more than 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 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 that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-FWS-
Learn more about the “Upper Miss” refuges at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/UpperMississippiRiver/
If you are a river fisherman you need to look this proposal over carefully (that’s just the tip of the iceberg) and attend the meetings.
