Project
Profile
Current
Status:
A Draft Environmental Assessment, Land Protection Plan, and Conceptual
Management Plan are available for public and agency review and comment.
Comments are due to Richard Smith by July 30, 2004.
Purpose
of Study:
The area east of the existing Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (WMA)
has been identified as being essential to recovery of threatened and endangered
species. This same area is also recognized for its international importance
in the life cycle of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds of North America's
Pacific Flyway. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to expand
the Grasslands WMA. This proposed expansion would allow the Service to
conserve, protect, and restore native grasslands, vernal pools, riparian
corridors, and wildlife compatible crops through purchase of perpetual
conservation easements.
Study Area
Size and Location:
The
study area is located east of the existing Grasslands WMA and Merced National
Wildlife Refuge in the heart of Merced County and the northern San Joaquin
Valley. Three towns frame the proposed easement areas: Merced, Chowchilla,
and Los Banos, California. Expansion of the WMA would provide nearly continuous
land protection between Interstate Highway 5 to the west and State Highway
99 on the eastern boundary of the study area. The expanded WMA would include
between 13,800 and 49,000 additional acres.
Grasslands
Wildlife
Management Area
Proposed
Expansion
Documents Available Online:
You can read, print,
or download the following documents online using Adobe Acrobat's Portable
Document Format (PDF). A free copy of the Adobe software is available
from the Adobe
website.
Grasslands
WMA Proposed Expansion
(Maps are posted seperately to improve downloading time.)
Environmental
Assessment (EA) (PDF 207kb)
. . .EA Figure 1. Location Map (PDF 216kb)
. . .EA Figure 2. Study Area Map (PDF 240kb)
.
. .EA Figure 3. Land Cover Map (PDF 555kb)
Land
Protection Plan (LPP) (PDF 67kb)
.
. .LPP Landowner Tract Map (PDF 325kb)
.
. .LPP Landowner Tract Table (PDF 113kb)
Conceptual
Management Plan (PDF 49kb)
Errata
Sheet (PDF 26kb)
Grasslands
Wildlife Management Area Expansion Study - Planning Update 4, June 2004
(PDF File 615kb)
Grasslands
Wildlife Management Area Expansion Study - Planning Update 3, March 2002
(PDF File 1403fkb)
Grasslands
Wildlife Management Area Expansion Study - Planning Update 2, August 2000
(PDF File 975fkb)
Project
Contacts:
For
Information on the Planning Process Contact:
Richard
Smith
Natural Resource Specialist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
2800 Cottage Way, Room W-1916
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: 916/414-6502
Fax: 916/414-6512
For
Information on the National Wildlife Refuge System Contact:
Kim Forrest, Project leader or
Loren Ruport, Wildlife Biologist
San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex
P.O. Box 2176
Los Banos, CA 93635-2176
Phone:209/826-3508
Fax: 209/826-1445
For
Information on Easement Acquisitions Contact:
Stephen
Dyer, Chief
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sacramento Realty Field Office
2800
Cottage Way, Room W-2610
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: 916/414-6445
Fax: 916/414-6462
E-mail
Your Comments Now
Send us comments on this project or request to be added to the mailing
list. Please use Grasslands WMA in the subject.
Information Updated as of: June 2004