Post by L Roebuck on Jun 8, 2006 12:59:56 GMT -5
SW Missouri cavefish refuge may be opened to public
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. - A southwest Missouri refuge for the endangered Ozark cavefish, a denizen of deep caverns whose life depends on good water quality, may be opened to the public for the first time, federal conservation officials said.
Officials are proposing opening the Ozark Cavefish National Wildlife Refuge in Lawrence County to hunters, anglers and other outdoors enthusiasts, mainly to better regulate the activities of people who already are entering the 40-acre site from a neighboring natural area, Paris Springs Access.
"We can do that (regulation), believe it or not, by allowing use. We wouldn't do this if we thought it would affect the fish at all," said Kathleen Burchett, who as manages the 40-acre catfish refuge and the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.
The change is part of a comprehensive conservation plan recently issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for public comment. The plan is available online at www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/mingo
The plan also aims to work with neighbors to improve water quality to protect the two-inch fish, which live in a cave on the site. The cave will remain closed to visitors behind a tall chain-link fence and metal bars.
That water quality effort parallels plans by the Missouri Department of Conservation to involve landowners in protecting cavefish habitat, said Chris Vitello, Department of Conservation regional fisheries director. The department recently hired an employee who will help educate landowners about the need to preserve water quality to protect cavefish, Vitello said.
"We're just kicking that off," he said. "What they're thinking about is right in line with what we're doing. We're going down the same path they are. We need to raise awareness a little bit."
Known as "ghost fish" by early settlers, cavefish are blind and would be translucent if their blood didn't give them a pinkish cast.
Cavefish, or Amblyopsis rosae, are listed as endangered in Missouri and are on the nation's threatened species list. Known cavefish sites are in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, but it's difficult to determine the number of cavefish because they move through inaccessible underground passages.
"Early settlers, if they found them in their wells, knew they had good quality water," Burchett said.
The Ozark Cavefish National Wildlife Refuge has been off-limits to the public since its purchase in 1991.
Belleville News Democrat
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plans and Environmental Assessment for Mingo NWR, Pilot Knob NWR and Ozark Cavefish NWR. Comments need to be submitted by July 10, 2006.
Visit the website for more information
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. - A southwest Missouri refuge for the endangered Ozark cavefish, a denizen of deep caverns whose life depends on good water quality, may be opened to the public for the first time, federal conservation officials said.
Officials are proposing opening the Ozark Cavefish National Wildlife Refuge in Lawrence County to hunters, anglers and other outdoors enthusiasts, mainly to better regulate the activities of people who already are entering the 40-acre site from a neighboring natural area, Paris Springs Access.
"We can do that (regulation), believe it or not, by allowing use. We wouldn't do this if we thought it would affect the fish at all," said Kathleen Burchett, who as manages the 40-acre catfish refuge and the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.
The change is part of a comprehensive conservation plan recently issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for public comment. The plan is available online at www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/mingo
The plan also aims to work with neighbors to improve water quality to protect the two-inch fish, which live in a cave on the site. The cave will remain closed to visitors behind a tall chain-link fence and metal bars.
That water quality effort parallels plans by the Missouri Department of Conservation to involve landowners in protecting cavefish habitat, said Chris Vitello, Department of Conservation regional fisheries director. The department recently hired an employee who will help educate landowners about the need to preserve water quality to protect cavefish, Vitello said.
"We're just kicking that off," he said. "What they're thinking about is right in line with what we're doing. We're going down the same path they are. We need to raise awareness a little bit."
Known as "ghost fish" by early settlers, cavefish are blind and would be translucent if their blood didn't give them a pinkish cast.
Cavefish, or Amblyopsis rosae, are listed as endangered in Missouri and are on the nation's threatened species list. Known cavefish sites are in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, but it's difficult to determine the number of cavefish because they move through inaccessible underground passages.
"Early settlers, if they found them in their wells, knew they had good quality water," Burchett said.
The Ozark Cavefish National Wildlife Refuge has been off-limits to the public since its purchase in 1991.
Belleville News Democrat
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plans and Environmental Assessment for Mingo NWR, Pilot Knob NWR and Ozark Cavefish NWR. Comments need to be submitted by July 10, 2006.
Visit the website for more information