U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces 183 Projects in Southeast Region Under President’s Economic Recovery Plan
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Atlanta, Georgia – From the Lower Mississippi River’s Delta to North Carolina’s coast and south to the waters of the Caribbean, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will undertake 183 construction projects in the agency’s Southeast Region focused on energy efficiency, habitat restoration and facility improvements at national wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries and other lands, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today.
These projects total approximately $56.5 million for improvements within the Southeast.
Salazar noted that these projects also create jobs and conserve our nation’s fish and wildlife resources, treasured landscapes, and rich heritage for future generations. In the Southeast Region, funding will be used to build two new visitor centers and complete one of the largest floodplain reconnection projects ever in the Mississippi River Basin.
2009 Georgia Junior Duck Stamp Student Art Competition Winners Chosen
Min Lee from Johns Creek, Georgia, won the 2009 Georgia Junior Duck Stamp Contest for his rendition of two wood ducks in color pencil. Credit: USFWS
A 14-year-old artist from Johns Creek, Georgia, Min Lee, has been announced as the winner of the 2009 statewide Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest held March 31, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia. Five judges unanimously selected Lee’s colored pencil rendition of a wood duck pair out of 511 entries as the Georgia Best of Show.
Min Lee will receive a $250 scholarship from Georgia Power Corporation and over $50 worth of art supplies and waterfowl field guides. As Georgia’s Best of Show, Lee’s artwork has also been sent for the federal competition scheduled on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, at the National Postal Museum, Washington, D.C. Images from all states and territories can be seen on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps.
Cave activity discouraged to help protect bats from deadly white-nose syndrome
Bat nose covered with white fungus. Credit: USFWS
Cavers should curtail their activities to avoid the possible spread of white-nose syndrome in bats, according to a Service cave advisory. WNS is likely being carried from cave to cave by human activity. Biologists hope the voluntary moratorium will buy time in the search for the cause and cure of this deadly malady killing hundreds of thousands of bats from Vermont to Virginia.
