U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service extends public comment on Stillwater

Tuesday, May 16, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

The extension was granted after Churchill County commissioners and others said the original June 12 deadline didn't give them adequate time to review the voluminous document.

The new deadline is July 12.

"This EIS has generated a large amount of public interest and we are more than willing to provide the extension period," said refuge manager Kim Hanson.

The comprehensive conservation plan is designed to guide refuge habitat and public use management for the next 15 years.

Hanson has said the agency's preferred alternative would establish a management priority of conserving and protecting native wildlife.

At the same time, it would enhance opportunities for compatible uses such as environmental education, wildlife observation and photography.

The preferred alternative also would maintain a long-term average of 14,000 acres of wetland habitat within the refuge, and maintain hunting as a significant activity.

Commercial livestock grazing and trapping would be phased out under the plan, but could be used as habitat management tools when needed.

The refuge is an important stop on the Pacific Flyway for thousands of migratory birds each spring and fall.