Service Releases Climate Change Strategy for Public Review and Comment Builds on Secretary Salazar’s DOI Climate Change Order
September 23, 2009 by USFWS
As part of the Department of the Interior’s commitment to building a coordinated strategy to respond to the impacts of climate change on the nation’s natural resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today releases a proposed strategic plan that will guide the agency’s efforts to respond to the unprecedented threat posed by global warming.
Delta’s U.S. Mentored Hunt Program Takes Off – More than 70 Hunts Planned for Upcoming Season
September 16, 2009 by Delta Waterfowl
Bismarck, N.D.—The seeds of John Denker’s love of waterfowling were sown when he was a young boy working as his father’s field apprentice in and around his hometown of Quincy, Illinois. “I was affectionately called the bag boy, the kid who picked up the birds, typically a mixed bag of ducks and geese, and hauled them back to the vehicles after the hunt,” said Denker, 28. “I loved to be outside and wouldn’t sleep the night before just knowing we were going. With my Dad, I got to be one of the guys, and those early days spurred my love of waterfowling that has only grown as I’ve gotten older.”
National Wildlife Refuges to be Featured on New Quarters
September 9, 2009 by USFWS
Block Island National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island and Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware will be featured on quarters with reverse (tails side) designs as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, which showcases national wildlife refuges, parks or other federally preserved area from each state, U.S. territory, and the District of Columbia.
“The new quarter program recognizes that public places of inspiration and recreation have always been important to Americans,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “The quarters highlight the diversity and magnificence of 48 National Park Service sites and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges cared for by the Department of the Interior as well as six national forests administered by the Department of Agriculture. Hopefully the coins will encourage people to learn more about each area and its significance to our heritage.”
Block Island NWR News Release (Dept. of Treasury)
Bombay Hook NWR News Release (Dept. of Treasury)
Where Do Our Ducks Come From? The Answer May Shock Many Hunters
September 9, 2009 by Delta Waterfowl
BISMARCK, N.D.—Lost in the euphoria over the 2009 breeding-population survey was the sobering confirmation that prairie Canada is no longer the continent’s leading producer of ducks. This spring, for the first time ever, more total ducks, more puddle ducks, twice as many pintails and even more redheads settled on the U.S. side of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) than the Canadian side. “Prairie Canada is nolonger King of Continental Duck Production,” wrote President Rob Olson in the fall issue of Delta Waterfowl magazine, adding, “From a Canadian duck guy’s perspective, that stings me more than a little.”
Mussel Traffickers to Serve Prison Terms, Pay Restitution
September 3, 2009 by USFWS
Three individuals who were involved in a conspiracy to illegally harvest and export undersized freshwater mussels taken from U.S. rivers have been sentenced to pay $65,000 in restitution and serve Federal prison terms of 12, 20 and 24 months. The three were successfully prosecuted on Lacey Act charges as the result of a multi-year undercover investigation of large-scale mussel trafficking conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. During the case, investigators linked at least 17 individuals to the conspiracy and discovered that as many as 240,000 individual mussels were unlawfully taken, sold and exported to Japan and other countries over a two-year period.
Salazar Announces Guidelines to Protect Indiana Bat from Surface Coal Mining Impacts
September 3, 2009 by USFWS
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the availability of coal mining guidelines developed to conserve and protect the endangered Indiana bat. The bat’s habitat stretches from the eastern United States through the Midwest, including 13 states with coal mining operations.
