Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex Comprehensive Conservation Plan Project Update

              U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Illinois River
National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Project Update
September 2004
Comprehensive Conservation
Plan Receives Final Approval
In September 2004, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) announced the completion of the comprehensive
conservation plan for the Illinois River National Wildlife
and Fish Refuges Complex (Refuges Complex).
The Refuges Complex includes: Meredosia NWR, Emiquon
NWR, and Chautauqua NWR.
The comprehensive conservation plan, or CCP, is intended
to outline how the Complex refuges will fulfill their legal
purposes and contribute to the National Wildlife Refuge
System’s wildlife, habitat and public use goals. The plan
articulates management goals for the next 15 years and
specifies the objectives and strategies needed to accomplish
these goals. While the planned future condition is long-term,
we anticipate that the plan will be updated every 5 to
10 years based on information gained through monitoring
habitat and wildlife, as well as recreational usage.
The Refuges Complex stretches along 124 miles of the
Illinois River is west central Illinois. Its three refuges total
12,163 acres comprising a mix of backwater lakes,
bottomland forests, floodplain wetlands, and a small amount
of upland forest and prairie.
Where You Can Find the CCP
Copies of the CCP are available in libraries in communities
surrounding the refuges. They are also available on-line at
http://midwest.fws.gov/planning/IllinoisRiver/index.html.
The CCP is available in portable document format (pdf) on
a CD-ROM. To receive a copy, please call the Refuges
Complex at 309/535-2290.
The Planning Process
The Illinois River NWFR Complex CCP effort began in
1999 with internal scoping of the issues among Refuge and
Regional Office staff. Public meetings were held between
April 19-21, 1999, in the communities of Meredosia, Henry
and Lewistown, Illinois, to solicit public comment on refuge
planning. Refuge staff met with the Illinois Division of
Water Resources, the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources, and several non-government organizations. Staff
participated in several technical groups and met with local
organizations. Refuge staff and planners hosted a public
meeting at the Dickson Mounds Museum to discuss the CCP.
In addition, Refuges Complex staff and planners asked for
regional office comment on the issues that should be
considered in planning.
The Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan was released
for public review in September 2003. The Service asked that
comments be returned by October 20, 2003. Three open
house meetings were conducted to give people interested in
the future of the Refuges Complex a chance to speak
directly with Refuge staff and Service planners. These
meetings were conducted on September 23, 2003, in
Meredosia, Illinois; September 24, 2003, in Lewistown,
Illinois; and September 25, 2003, in Henry, Illinois. The CCP
was revised based on the comments we received and the
final document was approved in August 2004.
USFWS
Illinois River National Fish and Wildlife Refuges Complex
Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex Comprehensive Conservation Plan
The CCP addresses many issues that were raised by
members of the public, state conservation officials, other
federal agencies and non-governmental organizations. These
issues include:
Wildlife Management Issues
■ Protect listed species
■ Perpetuate waterfowl and other migratory birds
■ Recover native fish and mussels
■ Safeguard biological integrity, diversity, and environ-mental
health
■ Wildlife are creating crop depredation
■ Avian botulism as a problem on Lake Chautauqua
Habitat Management Issues
■ Loss of wetlands
■ Loss of native forest
■ Loss of native grasslands
■ Loss of native savanna
■ Habitat is being degraded
■ Oxbow restoration on Emiquon NWR is affecting
drainage on local land
■ Sedimentation is filling in areas in the Illinois River
Corridor
Visitor Services Management Issues
■ Recreational opportunities identified by the public
■ Recreational facilities need improvement for safety and
universal accessibility
■ Refuges Complex needs increased visibility and under-standing
of its mission
■ The quality of waterfowl hunting in the area is seen as a
function of management on the Refuge Complex.
Who We Are and What We Do
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the primary federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and
enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the
continuing benefit of the American people. Our specific
responsibilities include enforcing federal wildlife laws,
managing migratory bird populations, restoring nationally
significant fisheries, administering the Endangered Species
Act, and restoring wildlife habitat such as wetlands. The
mission of the Service is to work with others to conserve,
protect, and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
The Service’s role also includes managing the National
Wildlife Refuge System, the world’s largest collection of
lands specifically managed for fish and wildlife. The System
is a network of more than 540 national wildlife refuges
encompassing more than 93 million acres of public land and
water. The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System
is to administer a national network of lands and waters for
the conservation, management and, where appropriate,
restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and
their habitats within the United States for the benefit of
present and future generations of Americans.
Refuges are also unique places for people. When it is
compatible with wildlife and habitat needs and the purpose
for which the refuge was established, they can be used for
wildlife- dependent activities such as hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation, photography, environmental education
and environmental interpretation.
Refuge Complex Vision Statement
“Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Com-plex
is a wild and thriving place where abundant grass-lands
and savannas, bottomland forests, and backwater
lakes support diverse and productive populations of plants
and animals. With numerous opportunities to learn about
and utilize its resources, the Refuge Complex serves as a
regional and national destination for visitors seeking high
quality educational and recreational experiences. Through
outreach with others, the Refuge Complex has expanded the
publics understanding and appreciation of Illinois River
fish and wildlife resources, and in doing so, has perpetu-ated
these resources within the communities surrounding
the Refuge Complex.”
Refuge Complex Goals
The CCP established clear goals for the Illinois River
NFWR Complex over the next 15 years. Objectives for
achieving each goal and strategies for achieving each
objective are detailed in the CCP. Goals for the Refuges
Complex are:
■ Wildlife Management Goal: Perpetuate listed species,
waterfowl and other migratory birds, and native fish
and mussels, within the Illinois River Corridor while
USFWS
Project Update / September 2004
restoring and conserving the biological integrity,
diversity, and environmental health of the Refuge
Complex.
■ Habitat Management Goal: Provide the most productive
habitat possible within the Illinois River Corridor for
the benefit of listed species, waterfowl and other
migratory birds, native fish and mussels, and native
biological diversity.
■ Visitor Services Management:
Provide the public with
abundant and high-quality
wildlife-dependent recreation
opportunities on Refuge land
including hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and
photography, and
environmental education and
interpretation.
■ Administration Goal: Provide
leadership and support to federal, state, local and
private partners at the Refuge, ecosystem and
landscape scales that are proactive in addressing a wide
range of conservation opportunities and issues.
Management Direction
In the next 15 years, management of the Refuges Complex
will focus on restoring wildlife habitat and increasing
wildlife-dependent recreation. As funding allows and as
willing sellers emerge, we will complete land acquisition
within the authorized boundaries of Emiquon NWR and
Meredosia NWR. We will concentrate conservation efforts
in five focus areas in the hope of developing additional
voluntary partnership agreements in these areas.
Implementing the Plan
Personnel
Currently the staff of the Refuges Complex consists of six
positions: refuge manager, refuge operations specialist,
administrative technician, private lands biologist, mainte-nance
mechanic, and maintenance worker.
As the Refuge Complex activities have expanded and
Refuge visitation has increased with a demand for higher
quality wildlife-dependent recreation opportunities, it has
become difficult to efficiently run the refuges to meet the
demands of the resources and the public. To meet these
needs, our plan is to add a full-time park ranger to coordi-nate
the public use program, a full-time law enforcement
officer, and a full-time private lands biologist as funds and
positions become available.
New and Existing Projects
The future management of the Refuges Complex will
require consistent operational and maintenance funding to
implement the strategies in this Plan. The costs to imple-ment
the strategies and projects
identified in this CCP are captured in
Service budget databases, including the
Refuge Operating Needs System
(RONS), Maintenance Management
System (MMS), and Land Acquisition
Priority System (LAPS). The following
list contains examples of the highest
priority Refuges Complex projects (Tier
1), as chosen by the Refuges Complex
staff. A listing of the top priority
unfunded Refuge projects can be found
in Appendix F of the CCP.
Tier 1 RONS projects include:
■ Improve Refuge public use and outreach by adding an
outdoor recreation planner to the staff.
■ Improve resources data analysis on the Illinois River
Refuges by adding a biologist position.
■ Construct an accessible platform at Chautauqua NWR.
■ Undertake prairie restoration on the Shearl and Skin-ner
tracts on Meredosia NWR.
■ Improve the entrance road to the Refuge Complex
headquarters.
The CCP details program planning levels that are above
current budget allocations. As such, the Service will use the
plan for strategic planning and programs. The CCP is not a
commitment for staffing or operational and maintenance
increases, or funding for future land acquisition.
Additional Information
For additional information, please call the Refuge Complex
Headquarters at 309/535-2290 or write to the Refuge
Manager at:
Illinois River National Fish and Wildlife Refuges
19031 E County Road 2110 N
Havanna IL 62644
USFWS
Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex Comprehensive Conservation Plan