CU06 - 45                                          

Boyer Chute and DeSoto National Wildlife Refuges Combine Resources to Manage Wildlife Habitat and Public Use Opportunities – Congressional Notification

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the management and administration of Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge would be combined with nearby DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in order to increase management efficiencies at both refuges.  Regional oversight of Boyer Chute NWR will shift from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Mountain-Prairie Regional Office in Denver, Colo., to its Midwest Regional Office at Ft. Snelling, Minn.  DeSoto NWR is managed by the Midwest Region.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge Manager Larry Klimek, who will supervise both refuges, emphasized that the changes are mostly internal to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and will have little if any effect on the visiting public.  “This effort will allow us to apply our collective resources on the most important habitat and public use projects on both refuges,” said Klimek.  Staff members currently on-site at Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge will remain at their current location and the refuge will remain open to compatible wildlife-dependent public uses.   

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge is located three miles east of Fort Calhoun, Neb., and eight miles north of Omaha.  The refuge boundary includes land in both Nebraska and Iowa along the Missouri River.  DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is located five miles west of Missouri Valley, Iowa, and five miles east of Blair, Neb.  The refuge also includes land in both Nebraska and Iowa along the Missouri River.