March 12, 2007

Toni Griffin, 303-236-4378

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is soliciting public comments on Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Souris River Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is soliciting public comments on the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Souris River Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, and Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, located in north central North Dakota. The refuges were established in 1935 as refuges and breeding grounds for migratory birds and other wildlife.  

Public comments on the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment will be accepted through March 19, 2007. The Service encourages the public to take advantage of this opportunity to comment on the plan, which will guide long-term management of the refuges.  

A copy of the CCP may be obtained by writing to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Refuge Planning, 134 Union Blvd, Suite 300, Lakewood, CO 80228; or by download from http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/planning. Copies of the CCP are also available at refuge headquarters located in Kenmare, Upham, and Berthold, North Dakota.  

Written comments may be submitted to Toni Griffin, Planning Team Leader, Division of Refuge Planning, Branch of Comprehensive Conservation Planning, Mountain-Prairie Region, P.O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225-0486, or electronically to toni_griffin@fws.gov.  

Refuge managers are also available to receive public comments. Comments may be provided to: Dan Severson, Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, County Road 1A, Kenmare, ND 58746, ph: 701/385 4046, or email: deslacs@fws.gov. Gary Erickson, J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, 681 Salyer Road, Upham, ND 58789, ph: 701/768-2548, or email: jclarksalyer@fws.gov. Tom Pabian, Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, 17701 212th Ave NW, Berthold, ND   58718, ph: 701/468-5467, or email: uppersouris@fws.gov . 

For further information contact: Toni Griffin, 303-236-4378 (phone); 303-236-4792 (fax); toni_griffin@fws.gov (email).  

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 for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. 

- FWS -

For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov