Funding of the National Wildlife Refuge system, administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service has apparently hit a critical level, at least for the southeastern region. The impact would potentially extend to the visiting public and possibly the closure of some sites.
WASHINGTON, DC, October 27, 2006 (ENS) – A federal plan made public Thursday would mothball the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge – established a century ago by President Theodore Roosevelt – and shutter dozens of others across the Southeast, while cutting scores of the refuge personnel.
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, the nation’s first national wildlife refuge, will lose the staff assigned to working with visitors and eliminate active outreach to the public.
Visitors to these sites number in the millions annually.
The 128 national wildlife refuges in the Southeast Region support more visitors than those in any other region: more than 11 million visitors annually.
The complete 26 page Southeast Workforce Management Plan is located here. (Beware, pdf file.)
Bill Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society:
“Pelican Island is symbolic of our nation’s commitment to protect our most critical bird and wildlife habitat,” said Bill Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society.
“Sadly, Pelican Island is now a stark example of how Congress and the administration have failed to provide the funding and attention needed to sustain our wildlife legacy,” he said.
Yep, we’re fighting them over there, so we can’t afford to look after the pelicans here.
GW probably figures the Pelicans are already on the way out, so he might as well cut his losses. Some scientists are predicting that twenty percent (or more) of existing species will be extinct inside the next hundred years as a result of the climate crisis, so what is one more bird species in the scheme of things?
Will we wake up in time? The UK version of BBC News front page has several interesting articles on the Climate Crisis today. Al Gore to speak to government leaders there. (What a novel idea!)
Thanks, Boran, for bring this bad news to our attention.
I’m frankly surprised that Bush would close anything that would arouse negative reaction in Florida. He tends to protect his brother’s political turf for future family excursions in power.
On the other hand, Bush likely thinks of the Texas model as ideal – where the wilder lands, such as they are, are almost exclusively in private hands. And just think: if Pombo loses, maybe Bush will make Pombo the person to run the Wildlife refuges or National parks or National forests.
I am particularly distressed to see that Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge, in Stewart County Tennessee, is one of the sites being hit by staff reductions. Cross Creeks isn’t as sexy as Pelican Island, nor as historic. But for me, it is personal. In 1810, one of my family owned a part of what is now in the Cross Creeks wildlife refuge.
I’ve been there several times as a kid. The variety of waterfowl and other birds at times of migration is simply astonishing. The high bluffs in the refuge overlook the creeks and the Cumberland River (now enlarged as a downstream dam in KY created Barkley Lake). It offers beautiful views, and nesting sites for bald eagles.
Before the refuge, the birds had little protection and were in danger of being hunted out. After the area was made a refuge, the bird population has increased tremendously. A very nice environmental education program for area schools has grown, and that program will be almost entirely shut down by these cuts. Hundreds of children participated in that program every year, many of them city kids who have limited opportunities to spend time in a wilderness area (the refuge is an easy drive from Nashville). But why should I be surprised? Teaching future generations about the environment has to be about as important to this administration as preserving the better aspects of the environment that we have now!
Exactly. 100 years from now, Karl Rove will be but a footnote to history but this issue will still be timely. Yet it doesn’t get enough attention.