In its latest newsletter, the Patuxent Research Refuge outlines three draft management alternatives as part of its Comprehensive Conservation Plan. The three alternatives address key issues identified by the planning team and the public.
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
In 2010, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) began developing a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for the refuge. This CCP will provide strategic management direction for the next 15 years, and explain the refuge’s priorities and plans for wildlife and habitat management, public use, staffing, and facilities. In the past year, the planning team, which includes representatives from refuge staff, FWS regional office staff, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, FWS Migratory Bird Program, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources, has been working to develop refuge goals, objectives, and strategies.
The team has also developed three draft management alternatives that aim to achieve the refuge purposes and respond to issues. Refuge management issues include hunting and fishing opportunities, refuge operating hours, deer management, land acquisition, climate change impacts, historic resources, and forest management.
- Alternative A is the “No Action” alternative, which continues current refuge management.
- Alternative B is the Service “Preferred Alternative,” which presents our recommended actions and strategies.
- Alternative C presents actions and strategies that maximize interior forest management and public activities that coordinate with those management strategies.
A synopsis of the draft alternatives is available in the newsletter. The refuge hopes to develop and distribute the draft plan for public review and comment in the spring of 2012.
For more detailed information about the alternatives, the refuge has developed a matrix that compares the alternatives across major topics. Click here to download it.
For more information on the planning process:
Bill Perry, Refuge Planner
Northeast Regional Office
300 Westgate Center Drive
Hadley, MA 01035
Phone: 413/253-8688
Fax: 413/253-8468
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web: www.fws.gov/northeast/planning
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