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The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced today that it is extending the public review and comment period for its draft Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy by two weeks. Interested members of the public will now have until April 18, 2005, to review and comment on the draft strategy. This is a two week extension from the original deadline of April 4, 2005.
ADF&G encourages members of the public to view the document at www.adfg.state.ak.us (click on the Draft CWCS review link located under Highlights) and provide comments online. Written comments may be mailed to: Mark Burch, ADF&G, 333 Raspberry Rd., Anchorage, AK 99518.
All 50 states are required by the federal government to prepare a Wildlife Conservation Strategy in order to receive federal funds known as “State Wildlife Grants.” These grants were established to provide states with funding to research and manage non-game fish and wildlife species.
Nationally, over 1,000 non-game species are listed on the federal Threatened and Endangered Species List, which is expected to increase over the next decade. Once federally listed, the funding necessary to protect or restore a species is far greater than preventing its decline in the first place.
Alaska’s draft strategy focuses on the development of conservation strategies for non-game species. It also includes maps of the state with text on the landscape, people, wildlife, land use and management, and describes 32 regions, from the Brooks Range foothills and Beaufort Coastal Plain to the Alexander Archipelago.
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