News
Current News

    CARE to Obama: Take Wildlife Refuge Cuts Off the Table
    June 10, 2010 (Washington, DC) – In a letter delivered to President Obama today, a national
    coalition of wildlife conservation and sporting organizations has asked the President to take cuts
    to the National Wildlife Refuge System’s budget off the table as he considers cutting federal
    agency spending by five percent in FY 2012. The coalition called the proposed cuts "wrong and
    inappropriate" at a time when refuges and the species they protect are dealing with potentially
    one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history in the Gulf of Mexico.

    "It is neither the time nor the place to propose funding cuts for the National Wildlife Refuge
    System or for the Fish and Wildlife Service," said Evan Hirsche, Chair of the Cooperative Alliance
    for Refuge Enhancement (CARE). "Agencies are already spread thin responding to the belching oil
    in the Gulf of Mexico, and the President’s proposed five percent budget cut would have dire
    consequences in the Refuge System’s ability to help wildlife recover. The survival of species like
    the brown pelican, which was only recently removed from the endangered species list, is now
    looking more bleak than it did just a year ago."

    National wildlife refuges protect a host of species that are being decimated in the Gulf of Mexico,
    including sea turtles, manatees and numerous migratory birds. The FWS is projecting that 20% of
    its nationwide staff will be deployed to the Gulf at some point to address the ongoing crisis,
    making it difficult for the agency to address ongoing refuge needs or future emergencies such as
    floods, hurricanes, and forest fires. Should the proposed funding cuts occur, the problems will be
    magnified ten-fold. Understaffed wildlife refuges will be forced to make difficult decisions to cut
    programs that protect wildlife, such as vital scientific monitoring programs. Ultimately, the cuts will
    compromise the System’s congressionally mandated conservation mission.



    Volunteering
    At this time British Petroleum (BP) is staffing to address questions and provide information about
    volunteering. The community information hotline where people can call to volunteer is 866-448-
    5816.  If you are an authorized rehabilitation expert with the appropriate permits for this type work,
    please contact Tri-State Rescue Research, Inc..  Tri-State has been hired by BP to lead cleanup for
    birds and its telephone number is 302-737-7241, and the email is hstout@tristatebird.org.  

    Support Letter of our National Wildlife Refuges  
    Senator Feingold and others wrote a letter to the Appropriations Committee asking for their
    assistance to increase funding for fiscal year 2011 for the National Wildlife Refuge System.
    View the letter.


    Budget Cuts Threaten Refuges  
    The U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System, which fuels the economic engine of local communities in
    all 50 states, is under threat from an Obama Administration proposal to significantly cut the
    system's budget. Visit Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) to learn more about
    this threat to our National Wildlife Refuge System.

    A report, Restoring America's Wildlife Refuges 2010 (3.24Mb pdf), released to Congress by CARE
    warns that unless Congress acts to restore funding for the Refuge System, the economic benefits
    that refuges provide could be in jeopardy at the very time they're needed most. Also at risk are the
    lands, waters, wildlife, birds and recreation opportunities that the more than 550 refuges in the
    150-million-acre Refuge System were established to protect.
      

      NWRA 2009 Annual Report   
    Despite difficult economic times the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) achieved
    significant conservation gains for the National Wildlife Refuge System in fiscal year 2009.
    ~ view the 2009 annual report (pdf file 928Kb)


    NWRA Applauds Record Funding Level for Refuge System
    The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) applauds Congress for including a $40 million
    increase to the National Wildlife Refuge System's operations and maintenance budgets for 2010
    with the passage of the 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. This
    builds upon strong increases over the past two years and brings Refuge System funding to an all
    time high of $503 million, surpassing the amount appropriated during the System's Centennial in
    2003.  ~ more information


    Write To Say Thank You!
    Let's not forget to thank your Congressional delegation and let them know what these increases
    have meant to YOUR refuge - let them know that the funding has allowed your refuge to restore
    habitat for endangered birds or hire a biologist to catalog the species at your refuge.  


    Support Legislation to Properly Fund Our Country's Refuge System
    Your elected representatives need to hear how you feel about the refuge system. They need to
    continue to hear from their constituents just how important the refuge system is to protecting
    wildlife habitat, to educating our children, and to providing a legacy to our grandchildren. The
    future of the refuge system is in your hands. Please contact your representatives to make your
    voice heard.

    Contact information:
    Congressional Representatives:                          House                Senate
    Wisconsin Congressional Representatives:     Wisconsin Congressional Delegation


Other News
    Society of Environmental Journalists Visits Refuge
    Matt Mendenhall from Birder's World along with 52 other journalists attending a conference in Madison, Wisconsin visited
    Necedah National Wildlife Refuge on October 8, 2009. View their blog post for more information on their visit and images of
    the Refuge.

    Wild Notes
    Published by the Friends of Necedah NWR, Wild Notes is a quarterly newsletter to keep members
    up to date on the activities of the Friends group and refuge happenings. Members receive the
    newsletter as part of their membership.  
Banner image for Friends of Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
Image of visitor center illustration.
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge held a special event to unveil the
new visitor center building design and site plan on Thursday,
August 27, 2009 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. at the construction site,
near the Refuge Office.  
Click here to learn more about the Unveiling A Legacy event.
Newsletters are in PDF format. Click here to download Adobe Reader:  Download ADOBE READER