The Missoulian in Montana is reporting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge has abruptly ended its relationship with the Friends of the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge organization.
The volunteer group, which has donated numerous hours and over $100,000 to the refuge, said they were blindsided by the decision and were given no warning that the relationship was about to be terminated.
Dale Burk was one of the founding members of the Friends group and someone who personally knew Montana Sen. Lee Metcalf.
“I consider this as an insult to the memory of Lee Metcalf,” Burk said. “He was a man who fought for openness in government. There was no openness involved in this. … They never contacted the leaders about their concerns once. They made the decision in the sanctity of an office in Denver, hundreds of miles from here.”
Burk said he doesn’t understand the severity of the decision.
“Why couldn’t we have been able to talk it out?” he said. “We don’t even know what motivated it.”
The Friends group will ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director and members of Montana’s congressional delegation to hold hearings in Stevensville on the matter.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Supervisor Dean Rundle, who works out of the USFWS office in Denver, was the author of the letter that terminated the relationship. Rundle said the Friends had voiced dissatisfaction over a USFWS employee and the way the Service had addressed those concerns.
USFWS Assistant Regional Director Richard Coleman backed the termination decision and stated, “I believe in doing that (terminating the memorandum of understanding) we have a good chance of a future relationship that will be stronger and more fulfilling for both of us.”
Unfortunately, the way in which this was handled and the hurt feelings of the volunteers seems to make the likelihood of a “stronger” relationship less likely.
On the Friends of the Lee Metcalf NWR website it states that the volunteer group began in August 2003 and was the first Friends group in Montana. The group of local community members came together to support and work with the refuge. Among their tasks are to:
- educate the public about the refuge
- respond to challenges affecting the refuge
- develop the refuge as a hub of conservation for the citizens of the valley and surrounding communities
- create a vested interest in the community for the refuge
- enhance appropriate access to the refuge
- protect the refuge ecosystem from outside impacts
Tags:
National Wildlife Refuge System, Lee Metcalf NWR, Montana
