012203 States To Get More

January 22, 2003

States To Get More Say in Refuge Management

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has issued a new policy calling for more cooperation with state fish and wildlife agencies in managing the 540 national wildlife refuges around the United States. The new policy was developed in cooperation with a team of state fish and wildlife agencies. It requires the USFWS to involve states early in the process, when initiating national policy development to address either a legislative requirement or a broad scale refuge management issue. "We are committed to involving our state counterparts early in all aspects of refuge management, not just as reviewers, but as participants," said USFWS Director Steve Williams. "I expect the Service to involve our state counterparts early in all aspects of refuge management, not just as reviewers, but as participants," Williams told the agency's regional directors in a Director's order. "I am committed to seeing the Service strengthen its ties with the agencies." The Director's Order requires that when the USFWS initiates national policy development to address a legislative requirement or to address a broad scale refuge management concern, need, or issue, it will inform the states early in the process to obtain scoping or other preliminary information.

The USFWS will invite interested state representatives to participate on working groups to develop policies that affect federal and state interests using intergovernmental personnel agreements (IPAs) to employ state representatives. State fish and wildlife agencies will continue to be provided opportunities to discuss and, if necessary, elevate decisions within the hierarchy of the USFWS, Williams said. Williams said the USFWS will work with interested state fish and wildlife agencies to help develop comprehensive conservation plans (CCPs). These plans guide management decisions for each refuge unit, and they outline a vision and the strategies to achieve it. They also provide valuable information about the refuge unit to other agencies and the public. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the only system of federal lands devoted specifically to wildlife. The system offers a haven for millions of migratory birds, hundreds of endangered species, and an enormous variety of other plants and animals. "Fish and wildlife conservation is a responsibility shared by the states and the federal government," Williams said. "We need the scientific expertise and local perspective of the state agencies."
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