04/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/17/2024 07:38
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing final updated planning policies for the National Wildlife Refuge System- a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management and restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats across the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
"Updating these planning policies supports the Service's innovative and collaborative approach to refuge management and aligns with administration priorities," said Service Director Martha Williams. "These updates will ensure that America's national wildlife refuges are a thriving and sustained network of healthy lands and waters for imperiled species and diverse wildlife populations, for the benefit of present and future generations."
The four planning policies that are being updated are: Refuge Planning Overview (602 FW 1), Land Protection Planning (602 FW 2), Comprehensive Conservation Planning (602 FW3) and Step-down Planning (602 FW 4). These policies set the vision for refuge planning to both address refuge-specific issues and to support the landscape-level goals and objectives identified with the Service's partners.
The policy updates will modernize the management of the Refuge System and enhance visitor engagement by incorporating landscape conservation planning and design and requiring consideration of climate change climate changeThese updates are a central component of the Biden-Harris administration's approach to conservation under the America the Beautifulinitiative, which focuses on pursuing locally led, collaborative and inclusive efforts to conserve, connect and restore our nation's lands and waters.
The authority for these policies is derived from the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. National wildlife refuge planning sets the broad vision for refuge management and determines goals, objectives, strategies and actions to ensure refuges are managed consistently with a refuge's purposes and the mission of goals of the Refuge System and all other applicable laws and regulations.
These final versions of the policies incorporate input received during a 30-day public comment period announced in the Federal Register that ended on October 16, 2023. The Federal Registernotice and supportive documents related to these final policies will be available on April 18, 2024, at www.regulations.gov: Docket Number: FWS-HQ-NWRS-2023-0024.
The final updated policies will also be available at: https://www.fws.gov/policy-library/manuals/land-use-and-management-series/refuge-management.
The Refuge System is an unparalleled network of 571 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts. There is a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge