Posted: 12/13/05
USFWS unveils ëpreferredí refuge plan
A new plan for the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge has been released for a 60-day public review and comment period.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is calling it the preferred alternative. It came after an intensive period of planning. Public comment came from about 2,900 people at meetings and workshops last spring and summer. There were also about 2,400 written comments submitted.
The USFWS announced the plan on December 5 and will take comments on it until February 3. That can be done in writing, or by attending one of nine open houses that will be held in January of 2006. Comments will all be considered when preparing the final CCP and EIS, which will be ready next spring.
La Crescent High School will host the only open house in Houston County on Thursday, January 5 from 6-8 p.m. in the cafeteria.
Refuge Manager Don Hultman said in a press release that the new alternative is being issued as a supplement to the draft CCP and EIS released in May, 2005.
The new alternative, known as ěAlternative E: Modified Wildlife and Integrated Public Use Focus,î contains several major changes as a result of public, conservation group, and agency input.
The major changes to Alternative D, which was the recommended initial plan, include:
ď Dropping 3 of 6 proposed No Hunting Zones around public use facilities.
ď Changes to boundaries in several proposed Waterfowl Hunting Closed Areas.
ď Dropping the ěno fishing, no motorsî provision for Waterfowl Hunting Closed Areas in favor of ěVoluntary Avoidanceî for large areas and ěNo Motors and Voluntary Avoidanceî for small areas. Restrictions taking effect October 15 versus October 1 each year to extend fall fishing.
ď Dropping the 25-shot shell daily limit and 100 yard spacing regulations for waterfowl hunting, although the existing 200 yard spacing for blinds or parties in Illinois will remain.
ď Dropping the fee managed hunt proposal for the Gibbs Lake Area of Lake Onalaska in Pool 7 in favor of devising a plan with waterfowlers.
ď Reducing the number of Electric Motor Areas from 17 to 6, but adding 8 Slow, No Wake Areas where from March 16 to October 31 each year watercraft must go slow and no airboats or hovercraft are permitted.
ď Dropping the restrictions on areas open to camping and proposed alcohol and human waste regulations, but adding a new regulation prohibiting glass containers.
ď Dropping the proposal for a launch fee at Refuge-administered boat ramps.
Hultman said the supplement does not represent the final changes to the full draft CCP and EIS.
Glass ban is new
Jim Nissen, the La Crosse District Manager, told The Argus on December 6 that he didnít know how the public would receive Alternative E. But he felt the planning process, meetings, and open houses gave people a chance to voice their opinions.
One comment that refuge workers heard repeatedly was to ban glass containers on refuge land, Nissen said. That was added to Alternative E even though it was not in any of the earlier alternatives. Glass can still be kept in watercraft.
Nissen felt that the points of most concern for the people using Pool 8 centered on camping, shellshot daily limits, Electric Motor Areas, and the launch fee at Refuge-administered boat ramps. There is only one such ramp on Pool 8, the one located just below the Dresbach Dam at the I-90 rest area.
Blue/Target Lake and Root River Bottoms will become Refuge-administered slow, no wake areas. In Alternative D, both areas were proposed as year-round Electric Motor Areas. From March 16 through October 31 in these areas, watercraft must travel at slow, no-wake speed. No airboats or hovercraft are allowed.
The resource and public use rationales behind designating each of these areas can be found in Appendix B on the web at www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/uppermiss.
Nissen added that implementing the plan will take a tremendous amount of work.
About the refuge and plan
The Upper Mississippi Refuge is the most visited refuge in the country, with more than 3 million visitors per year. It has a 11 locks and dams within its boundary, and is also 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.
The 15-year comprehensive plan for conservation and land use was mandated by Congress in 1997. All 540 national refuges must have a new comprehensive plan in place by 2012.
For more information on the refuge
The executive summary of the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge has been mailed to more than 4,000 citizens and groups.
People can also pick them up at the Refuge office at 555 Lester Avenue, Onalaska, 54650. Call 608-783-8405 for more information.
The executive summary contains background information, a summary of major changes reflected in the new alternative, a series of tables for comparing and contrasting alternatives, and twelve fold-out pool maps showing the alternative features.
People can attend an open house at the La Crescent High School cafeteria on Thursday, January 5 from 6-8 p.m. Other local open houses will be held in Stoddard, WI, on Tuesday, January 3; and in Onalaska, WI, on Saturday, January 7. The public may view large maps, talk with refuge staff, and offer comments and suggestions.
Copies of the executive summary and full supplement, along with the full draft CCP and EIS, can be viewed on the Internet at www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/uppermiss/.
The documents can also be viewed at many public libraries.
For assistance, persons may call the refuge at (507) 452-4232, or leave a message at the toll-free number (888) 291-5719.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com