National Wildlife Refuges in Mississippi face an immediate $69.3 million budget shortfall

1
Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, Mississippi

• National Wildlife Refuges in Mississippi face an
  immediate 69.3 million budget shortfall
• Mississippi is home to 15 national wildlife
  refuges encompassing over 217,000 acres. All of
  these refuges have a mission to provide habitat
  for migratory birds and wintering waterfowl. In
  addition, Mississippi Sandhill Crane Refuge
  provides critical habitat for the endangered
  Mississippi Sandhill Crane and gopher tortoise,
  while Noxubee Refuge supports a population of the
  endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Eleven
  Mississippi refuges lie within the Mississippi
  Alluvial Valley supporting some of the last
  remnants of large bottomland hardwood forest, an
  imperiled ecosystem. These refuges support
  important habitats for over 250 species of
  neotropical migrant birds, and provide resources
  for endangered species including freshwater
  mussels, wood stork, bald eagle and black bear.
• The Refuge System in Mississippi has identified
• 69.3 million and
• 43 staff positions
• in unmet high priority needs. This shortfall
  prevents the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from
  adequately managing and restoring wildlife
  habitat, safely maintaining facilities and
  providing quality recreational programs.
• Unfortunately, the Refuge System budget has
  remained relatively flat for the last two years.
  Due to rising costs, a flat budget erodes each
  refuges base funding, preventing vital positions
  from being filled and projects from being
  completed. The Refuge System in Mississippi
  needs a 232,000 increase each year just to
  retain current services.

Yazoo and St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife
Refuges need funding to staff wildlife biologist
positions critical to monitoring wildlife and
fishery resources on eight refuges in the
Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
Theodore Roosevelt Refuge Complex needs funding
to improve water management and increase
reforestation. Mississippi Sandhill Crane
Refuge needs funding to control congon grass
which is threatening to destroy the rare wet pine
savannahs.
2
National Wildlife Refuge Funding Crisis
About C.A.R.E CARE is a unique coalition of 21
conservation, scientific, sporting, and
recreation organizations with more than 5 million
members across the United States. CARE has been
working since 1995 to help the National Wildlife
Refuge System fight a serious funding
crisis. American Birding Association American
Fisheries Society American Sportfishing
Association Congressional Sportsmen's
Foundation Defenders of Wildlife Ducks
Unlimited International Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies Izaak Walton League of
America National Association of Service and
Conservation Corps National Audubon
Society National Rifle Association of America
National Wildlife Federation National Wildlife
Refuge Association Safari Club International The
Wilderness Society The Wildlife Society Trout
Unlimited U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance Assateague
Coastal Trust Wildlife Forever Wildlife
Management Institute 1010 Wisconsin Avenue,
NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20007 Phone
202-333-9075 Fax [phone] Web
www.FundRefuges.org/CARE/ CareHome.html

• CARE recommends a 700 million annual operations
  and maintenance budget for the Refuge System
• The National Wildlife Refuge System faces a
  crippling 3 billion operations and maintenance
  budget shortfall, which continues to grow. An
  annual increase of 300 million will prevent the
  Refuge System from spiraling into more debt and
  allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to begin
  restoring habitat, maintaining facilities and
  expanding public use opportunities that have
  languished due to lack of funds.
• Faced with a flattened budget and increased
  costs, in just three years 74 of the refuges in
  the northeast will be bankrupt, according to a
  Fish and Wildlife Service analysis. Other
  regions are facing similar problems. Able to
  absorb some budget pressure over the years,
  refuges have reached a threshold forcing the Fish
  and Wildlife Service to de-staff entire refuges,
  and cut visitor services and habitat management
  at scores of refuges.
• Investing in refuges is good for communities and
  for wildlife
• National Wildlife Refuges are economic engines in
  many rural areas. According to a recently
  released economic analysis, Banking on Nature, by
  the Fish and Wildlife Service
• Recreational visits to national wildlife refuges
  generate substantial economic activity. In the
  2004 Banking on Nature Study, more than 36.7
  million people visited refuges for recreation.
  Their spending generated 1.37 billion of sales
  in regional economies. This generated nearly
  24,000 jobs and 453.9 million in employment
  income.
• In Mississippi, refuges host over 400,000
  visitors annually who participate in hunting,
  fishing, and wildlife observation producing an
  estimated 37 million impact into the local
  economies. Other economic impacts include 4.2
  million annually in forest and farm products.
  The total economic contribution of Mississippi
  refuges is approximately 45 million annually.