Caledonia Argus

Upper Mississippi refuge meeting set for Sept.18

Posted: 9/3/02

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge has set a date for a scoping meeting, which is the initial step in the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the La Crosse district of the refuge. The meeting is scheduled for September 18, 2002 and will be held in the Brownsville Community Center in Brownsville, with an open house at 4 p.m. and a public comment session at 7 p.m.

The Comprehensive Conservation Plan is a 15-year plan that, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ìidentifies issues, goals, objectives, and strategies for refuge management, and provides neighbors and others with a clear picture of what the service intends to do in terms of managing habitat, protecting wildlife, and providing a place where people can enjoy wildlife-dependent activities.î The ostensible aim of the CCP is to provide refuge managers and planners with goals for refuge management by taking into consideration the input of neighboring communities.

The September 18 meeting is open to the public and the Refuge Complex encourages all to attend. Managers and planners will meet with the public to discuss and decide which issues should be addressed in planning the future of the refuge. It will be an opportunity to suggest ideas and voice concerns. Issues such as recreational navigation in designated closed-areas, managed hunting, urban encroachment, and fishing regulations are among the broad range of issues slated for discussion in the course of the CCP.

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