[TN-Bird] Salazar Announces Draft Vision for Future of Refuge System
- From: "David Aborn" <David-Aborn@xxxxxxx>
- To: <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2011 12:30:10 -0500
5 March 2011
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced a draft vision plan to
guide the growth and management of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The
draft document, developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National
Wildlife Refuge Association, articulates a 10-year vision for the Refuge
System.
The vision document, entitled Conserving the Future: Wildlife Refuges and
the Next Generation, offers nearly 100 draft recommendations to protect and
improve the world's premier system of public lands and water set aside to
conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants for the continuing benefit of
the American people. Starting today, the draft document will be available
for public comment until Earth Day, April 22, 2011.
The Conserving the Future process comes on the heels of President Obama's
America's Great Outdoors initiative to develop a conservation and outdoor
recreation agenda for the 21st century. The process to develop a new vision
for the Refuge System goes hand-in-hand with many of the priorities
identified through the America's Great Outdoors national dialogue, including
greater access to recreation and connecting a new generation of
conservationists to the outdoors.
"The National Wildlife Refuge System is one of the crown jewels of our
conservation efforts and we must ensure that the System has the tools and
vision to meet the challenges of tomorrow," Salazar said. "I encourage all
Americans to participate in the Conserving the Future process and to voice
their bold ideas about the future priorities and management of our national
wildlife refuges."
There are 553 national wildlife refuges with at least one in every state and
U.S. territory. Spanning more than 150 million acres of land and water, the
Refuge System conserves wildlife habitat for hundreds of animal and plant
species and includes more than 20 million acres of designated wilderness.
The last time a vision statement was articulated for the System was 1999.
Among the draft vision's recommendations are:
* To engage youth in an array of work and volunteer programs;
* To review the Appropriate Use Policy, so a wider variety of
nature-based experiences may be possible;
* Within the next 10 years, to increase the number of minorities and
people with disabilities who work for the Refuge System, in part by reaching
high school and college youth from diverse communities and exposing them to
Service conservation careers.
* To develop a five-year plan to "green" the Refuge System;
* To encourage a 'Friends' group for every staffed refuge; there are
now about 230 Friends groups;
* To develop standards for credibility, efficiency and consistent
application of science in planning and management;
* Working with state fish and wildlife agencies, to prepare a strategy
to double youth participation in hunting and fishing by 2020, paying special
attention to individuals of all ages with disabilities.
A website, http://americaswildlife.org <http://americaswildlife.org/> , has
been created to gather comments and ideas. A refined vision document
reflecting the comments and ideas received online is expected to be
published in July 2011.
"The use of new technologies and social media for this process invites the
American people to contribute their bold ideas to set a new direction for
the Refuge System," said Rowan Gould, Acting Director of the Fish and
Wildlife Service. "The time to engage is now. Join the conversation online
through the website."
For more information on Conserving the Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next
Generation, please visit the website at http://americaswildlife.org
<http://americaswildlife.org/> . Learn more about the National Wildlife
Refuge System at http://www.fws.gov/refuges.
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.
David Aborn
Chattanooga, TN
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