"Refuges Declared Globally Important" - Now there's an understatement.

Peggi
>
>Upper Mississippi River and Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuges Declared
>Globally Important by the American Bird Conservancy
>
>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been recognized by the American
>Bird Conservancy for its significant role in protecting the fish and
>wildlife habitat of the Upper Mississippi River. Over 260 miles of the
>Upper Mississippi River have been declared "globally important" to
>migratory birds by the Conservancy.
>
>In presenting the designation to Service Regional Director Bill Hartwig in
>a ceremony held October 3 in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Dr. Jeff Price
>cited the critical importance of the Upper Mississippi River area in
>supporting populations of bald eagles, tundra swans and canvasback ducks.
>Price is director of the Conservancy's United States Important Bird Areas
>(IBA) Program.
>
>"Over 70 pairs of bald eagles nest in the area," said Price. "This
>represents over 1 percent of the U.S. breeding population." In winter,
>over 600 bald eagles call the river home, attracted by the open water,
>tall perch trees and readily available food near the locks and dams. Fish
>represent 90 percent of the eagles' winter diet.
>
>To qualify for this recognition, "globally important" areas must host at
>least 1 percent of the global population of a bird species or
>concentrations of at least 20,000 birds. In addition to bald eagles,
>during the fall migration period the Upper Mississippi River area hosts
>nearly 17,000 tundra swans (20 percent of the world's population) and more
>than 136,000 canvasback ducks (20 percent of the world's population) as
>they funnel through the Mississippi Flyway.
>
>According to Hartwig, the area also provides valuable habitat for more
>than 289 species of other birds, 30 percent of which are "neotropical
>migrants," birds that breed in or migrate through the area en route to
>their wintering grounds in the tropics. Many neotropical migrants have
>suffered population declines due to habitat losses in North, Central and
>South America. Both the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and
>Fish Refuge and the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge are managed by
>the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A primary goal of these refuges is to
>provide resting, nesting, and feeding habitat for waterfowl and other
>migratory birds throughout the year.
>
>Located along the Mississippi River from Wabasha, Minnesota, to Rock
>Island, Illinois, the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish
>Refuge and the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge offer some of the
>Midwest's finest wildlife observation and education opportunities.
>Combined, the refuges host over 3.5 million visitors each year. Hunting,
>fishing and trapping are popular public activities within designated
>areas. The refuges also contain a variety of cultural features, including
>American Indian prehistoric archeological sites, within their borders.
>
>The United States IBA program was created by the International Council for
>Bird Preservation, now known as BirdLife International, in the mid-1980s.
>The designation of IBAs is one component of a bird conservation effort
>being coordinated by the Partners in Flight program, a consortium of
>Federal and state agencies and non-governmental organizations formed to
>address the needs of migratory birds. The goal of the organization is to
>identify those sites which contain vulnerable, threatened, or endangered
>bird species or large concentrations of seabirds, waterfowl, raptors,
>shorebirds, waders, or migratory land birds. Once identified as IBAs, it's
>hoped these critical habitat areas will benefit from increased public
>awareness and enhanced habitat protection and management. The process of
>identifying IBAs also helps build partnerships and cooperation among
>ornithologists, birdwatchers, private landowners, and state and federal
>agencies.
>
>Over 3000 sites world-wide have been designated IBAs by BirdLife
>International, including areas in Europe and the Middle East. Current
>efforts include identifying similar areas in Africa, Canada, Mexico,
>Panama and Russia as well as the United States. Both state and global
>IBAs have been identified; state sites may contain bird species
>threatened within a state or locality while global sites, such as the
>Upper Mississippi River and Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuges, are
>important to bird species world-wide.
>
>
>
> -FWS-
>
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>.-
>
>
Ben & Peggi Rodgers
Aptos, CA (near Santa Cruz 122 W, 37 N)
USA
woodduck at cruzio.com
http://www2.cruzio.com/~woodduck/


"A bird does not sing because it has an answer,
It sings because it has a song"