Interior Secretary Ken Salazar earlier this week designated portions of the Upper Mississippi River, including the Midwest’s largest national wildlife refuge, as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
The designation includes just over 300,000 acres of federal and state lands and waters of the Upper Mississippi River floodplain from near Wabasha, Minn. to north of Rock Island, Ill. The designation includes all of the 240,000-acre Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge headquartered in Winona, Minn. and the adjacent 6,226-acre Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin.
The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty for national action and international cooperation to conserve wetlands and their resources.
With Fish and Wildlife Service approval, the designation package now
goes to the Ramsar Secretariat located in Gland, Switzerland, for
technical review and formal addition to the international list of
wetlands which now numbers more than 1,600 sites. Formal designation is
expected early in 2010.
"The ecological, social, and economic values of the Upper Mississippi River make it one of the crown jewels of this nation’s wetlands," Salazar said. "This marks the 27th U.S.
wetland designated under the Convention on Wetlands. The U.S. became a
party to the convention in 1987, which now includes 150 countries. It’s
certainly fitting that this area has now officially received
international recognition."
Other designated sites in the U.S. include such wetland icons as Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia and Florida, Everglades National Park in Florida, and Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin.
Don Hultman, refuge manager of the Upper Mississippi River refuge, said designation is aimed at strengthening public awareness and appreciation of the role wetlands play in sustaining environmental health, economic enterprise, and recreational well-being.
Hultman said the refuge and surrounding public lands in the site support more than 200 nesting pairs of bald eagles, 120 species of fish, 42 species of mussels, and provide migration habitat for up to 50% of the world’s population of canvasback ducks.
He said the site also serves as a major navigation highway for commerce and provides millions of citizens abundant hunting, fishing, and other recreational opportunities.
Hultman said a Wetland of International Importance designation has no effect on current jurisdiction, authorities, or management responsibility of federal, state, or local governments that partner on management of the river. He stressed that designation does not affect current river uses.
Loading...