WTNH in Connecticut reports that Republican Louisiana Rep. John Fleming introduced an amendment that stripped $9.8 million in Hurricane Sandy aid for Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge in Connecticut.
Stewart B. McKinney NWR runs for 70 miles along the Connecticut coast and its eight islands and four land units received a great deal of [...]

Defenders of Wildlife recently posted about a project they undertook to assess the sea-level rise threat to the lands within both the acquired boundary (the land that a refuge already owns) and the approved boundary (the land they are planning to acquire) of eight coastal refuges threatened with sea-level rise: Blackwater, Great White Heron, Laguna [...]

USA Today published an article about the impact of Hurricane Sandy on national wildlife refuges and migrating birds.

One of the biggest fears is that Sandy’s heavy ocean surges pushed salt water from the Atlantic Ocean into coastal freshwater refuges, which are vital rest stops for migrating birds.
“A freshwater marsh is a precious commodity,” [Dan] [...]

As this blog has reported in the recent past, there is a great deal of controversy at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia regarding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed plans to move beach access and parking at the refuge in response to the impact of erosion and sea-level rise. The USFWS has posted [...]

Seattlepi.com reports that ravaged wetlands and crops throughout Texas and New Mexico are waiting for migratory cranes, geese, and ducks that are making their way south for the winter season.
Buffalo Lake and Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuges are seeing a decrease in birds due to drought conditions:

“I don’t know where our birds are going,” said [...]

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, which is located on the southern end of Assateague Island in Virginia and which is part of a popular beach community, is in the process of writing their Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), which is required of each refuge in the nation.
The difference for Chincoteague is that some of the CCP [...]

Republican senators continue to uphold the nomination of long-time U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee Dan Ashe to become director of the Service — which has been without a designated leader since February 2010, when former director Sam Hamilton had a fatal heart attack while skiing.
Despite widespread support for Dan Ashe, Republican Senators David Vitter [...]

The Washington Post reports that the presidential commission investigating the BP oil spill response found that the sand berms built off the Louisiana coast did little to stop the oil.
Despite intense pressure from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) and other state officials demanding that the berms be built, the commission said scientists who predicted [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just posted a video about the problem of sea level rise at Bulls Island, which is a barrier island at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. Over the past several years, staff at Bulls Island have seen the beach disappear before their eyes at an alarming rate, [...]

On July 23, CapeGazette.com reported on the efforts of Delaware resident Melanie Hoff, who has taken on the task of publicizing the death of the freshwater marsh at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.

The change in the refuge near her home inspired Hoff to produce “Death of a Marsh,” a video she uploaded to [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has posted an interesting video that looks at the impact of climate change on the National Wildlife Refuge System and what biologists and refuge managers are doing to prepare for the challenges of a changing environment.

Tags:
National Wildlife Refuge System, climate change, US Fish and Wildlife Service

The Epoch Times recently reported on The Conservation Fund’s goal of raising $100,000 by April 22 to plant 10,000 more trees in wildlife refuges. To raise awareness, The Conservation Fund has released a micro-documentary about their Go Zero® carbon offset campaign, which has the tagline of “Plant a Tree. Trap a Ton. Go Zero.”
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