PREFACE
In the summer of 2010, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees began the process of charting the course for the National Wildlife Refuge System’s next decade. Their charge was to build on the foundation of the System’s last strategic plan, Fulfilling the Promise, and create an updated vision for the future of America’s national wildlife refuges.
Clearly, much has changed since 1999, when Fulfilling the Promise was published. America is a different place—our population is larger and more diverse; we have been battered by two recessions; and we are at war on multiple fronts. And the landscape for conservation has changed—there is less undeveloped land, more invasive species and we are beginning to understand the significant ramifications for conservation posed by a changing climate.
In the face of these challenges, the Service gains conservation strength through building partnerships. We have always cooperated closely with state fish and wildlife agencies in planning and administering the Refuge System, relying both on the authority and the unique expertise these agencies have in managing fish and wildlife. Since its inception a century ago, the National Wildlife Refuge System has included some units whose primary purpose is the increase of game species for hunters and anglers and other units whose purpose is primarily to preserve species and habitats. The National Wildlife Refuge System is both a product and a component of the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation. For this reason the Service is in a unique position to partner with other land managers at the national, state and county levels, as we work on far-reaching plans for the conservation of wildlife. Lately, the Service has expanded on this important model by including these groups and individuals in new Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) across the country. In these difficult times, it is imperative to work together. The Service will maintain a close relationship with the state fish and wildlife agencies to effectively coordinate management of fish and wildlife within the Refuge System.
Working together to create a renewed vision for the Refuge System makes sense, too. More than 100 people from across the Service created a draft vision document and—with the help of our partner in this strategic process, the National Wildlife Refuge Association– posted it on the web, and asked for your comments, suggestions and ‘bold ideas.’ We asked Service employees, other state and federal agencies, tribes, conservation agencies and private citizens concerned about conservation for help. And you responded. We received more than 10,000 comments— many including excellent ‘bold ideas.’
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Many of the comments and ideas we received were specific to the Refuge System and, where appropriate, we incorporated them into Conserving the Future. Many of the other comments and bold ideas transcend the Refuge System and even the Service; however, they are important issues for the entire conservation community to discuss. The forum in which to promote these ideas is America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) initiative, a 21st century conservation and recreation agenda developed by the Department of the Interior.
The AGO initiative is a grassroots approach to protecting our lands and waters and connecting all Americans to their natural and cultural heritage. Developed in part via listening sessions throughout the nation, the AGO initiative seeks to empower all Americans—citizens of all ages; community groups and other nonprofit organizations; the private sector; and local, state and tribal governments—to share in the responsibility to conserve, restore and provide better access to our lands and waters to leave a healthy, vibrant outdoor legacy for generations to come. These listening sessions generated many bold ideas.
We are building our vision for Conserving the Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next Generation just as the ambitious plans for implementing AGO are beginning. This presents us with an incredible opportunity to realize our vision by helping lead and catalyze AGO implementation. The time is right to build a lasting conservation legacy using the momentum of the vision process and the grassroots approach of AGO.
Our response to your comments and bold ideas that transcend our traditional responsibilities – or the responsibilities of any single entity–is straightforward. Yes, we will step forward. We volunteer to lead where appropriate, follow when we should, and catalyze and energize this effort to conserve and restore America’s great outdoors. But we will only succeed if the entire conservation community and all Americans who love the great outdoors step forward, too. Refuges are laboratories for partnership and adaptive management, pioneering new concepts in landscape conservation. We hope all will join together in conserving America’s great outdoors.
What follows in this document represents the Service’s vision for how the Refuge System can contribute in this larger context. It is written primarily for Service employees and our close friends and partners, to both inspire them to greater achievements, and to guide them on their way. But it is also intended for a broader audience, as demonstrated in the repeated acknowledgement of the landscape context and partnerships throughout every section of this work. In every page of this document, you will see yourself. Whether you are from another federal agency, a tribe, a state, a conservation organization or a citizen, we need you to help us conserve America’s wild things and wild places.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
[Placeholder for the Executive Summary of the finalized document]
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