Now Is Your Chance!!!!!!!

[Hiker of the Woods]

Here is everyone's chance to send in emails on what you would like to see stay the same or change with our Refuge System here in the U.S. I know I would like to see hunting stay and even increase on all of the refuges. Not just hunting in general, but also more species being able to hunt on a refuge. Get those emails sent in.

http://us.vocuspr.com/Newsroom/Quer...AssetID_EQ=113121&XSL=PressRelease&Cache=True

AMERICA?S GREAT OUTDOORS: Salazar Announces Draft Vision for Future of Refuge System

CONTACT:

Kendra Barkoff, DOI
202-208-6416

Claire Cassel, FWS
703-358-2357
________________________________________
WASHINGTON, D.C. ? 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, 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. 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. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

 

[Hiker of the Woods]

Here is where you can send your emails.

[email protected]

 

[Hiker of the Woods]

Welcome to Conserving the Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next Generation

The Hunter?s Role in the National Wildlife Refuge System

By Wayne LaPierre in February 11th 2011

The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) is the world?s most effective network of public lands and waters created to manage and conserve fish and wildlife.

The National Rifle Association believes that the NWRS must expand upon its longstanding partnership with hunters for the System to gain ground in the next generation.

Hunters continue to be some of the strongest supporters of conservation and the NWRS (image: FWS).

The hunter?s role in the NWRS has been ingrained since 1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt, a hunter and visionary conservationist, established the first wildlife refuge at Pelican Island, Florida.

Since then, hunters have played a key role in funding the system and in ensuring that refuges maintain healthy, sustainable wildlife populations.

Refuges safeguard wildlife populations through habitat management. There must exist a balance between a refuge?s wildlife population and the habitat needed to support it.

That's where hunters come in. Hunters are often called the first conservationists. And hunting is the most important, most effective tool for striking that imperative balance between the wildlife on a refuge and its carrying capacity.

In terms of funding?Sales of the Federal Duck Stamp have raised more than $750 million since 1934, enabling the purchase of more than five million acres of wildlife habitat for the NWRS. The typical buyer of a Duck Stamp is a hunter?indeed, every waterfowl hunter in the country is required to have one.

This citizen-based revenue for land acquisition is unparalleled in Federal and state land systems and exemplifies the unique role that the hunting community plays in wildlife conservation throughout the country.

It is no exaggeration to say that America?s 12.5 million hunters are among the best friends the NWRS has. Hunters must continue to be a vital part of its vision, and more efforts made to increase hunting opportunities. Loss of accessible hunting land due to development and fragmentation is the main cause of declining hunter numbers, and refuges need to help reverse that decline by providing prime areas for Americans to hunt.

While NRA?s mission is to defend the Second Amendment, 80 percent of our members hunt. We are committed to protecting hunters? rights, promoting hunter safety, and defending hunting as a key to the wise use of our renewable wildlife resources.

What's Next?

By Greg Siekaniec in February 24th 2011

February 24 is a milestone for the Refuge System. Today is the day when the single, cohesive Conserving the Future draft vision is available on this website for everyone ? Refuge Friends, partners, employees and the general public ? to tell us what you think.

American oystercatcher at Cape May National Wildlife Refuge helps its young. Credit: Steve Greer.

The draft is the culmination of the work and ideas of more than 70 members of five Core Teams, who wrote the individual documents that fed into this one piece. We are taking comments until Earth Day, April 22 ? lots of time for everyone who cares about the Refuge System to help set the direction for the next decade or so.

I hope you will comment directly on the draft document. We have made the comment area easy to find, and you can always email your comments directly to [email protected]. We have also added an exciting, new feature: the bold ideas section. Don?t hold back. Articulate new ways of conducting conservation business. Tell us if we are poised to meet the conservation demands of the 21st century. Here is a place where you can get a little wild; intellectually.

 

[Hiker of the Woods]

National Wildlife Refuge Association

Are you wondering what's happening to Refuge System funding on Capitol Hill? Watch this video for an update from Desiree Sorenson Groves, NWRA Vice President of Government Affairs, and find out how you can help!