Necedah National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan

Comprehensive Conservation Plan Completed
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
Management Direction
The Yellow River Focus Area
Request a Copy of the CCP
Where We're At in the Planning Process

Comprehensive Conservation Plan Completed

The Necedah NWR CCP received careful review throughout the planning process. The first draft was released in August 1998. A revised draft was released in July 2000, and another revised draft CCP was released in October 2001. Final approval of the document was preceded by extensive review within the Midwest Region and in Washington, D.C., Headquarters. The final document was released in December 2004.

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge

Located in Wood and Juneau Counties in central Wisconsin, Necedah National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Today it consists of 43,656 acres of wetlands and open water areas; pine, oak and aspen forests; grasslands; and savannahs, all of which support a rich diversity of fish and wildlife.

Management of the Refuge focuses on restoring and maintaining habitats for migratory birds such as waterfowl, songbirds and raptors.

The Refuge also manages habitat for several threatened and endangered species, including the Karner blue butterfly and the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. It supports many resident game species, including the white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and ruffed grouse. More than 140,000 people visit the Refuge each year to hunt, fish, hike, observe wildlife, or just relax among the trees, wetlands, and wildlife.

Management Direction

The CCP identifies the following goals for the Refuge:

• Goal 1: The Refuge will actively conserve, restore, establish and manage diverse and productive populations of waterfowl and other migratory birds within the Refuge and the Yellow River Focus Area, with an emphasis on regional and national species of management concern.
• Goal 2: The Refuge will provide a federal leadership role in the preservation, recovery, and where appropriate the reintroduction of federally listed species (e.g. Karner blue butterfly, Whooping Crane, Eastern timber wolf, Eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Bald Eagle) throughout central Wisconsin over the life of the CCP.
• Goal 3: The Refuge will, in partnership with others, conserve, restore, establish and manage diverse and productive wetland, open landscape, and forest habitats on Refuge land and within the Yellow River Focus Area that benefits listed species, waterfowl and other migratory birds, and native biological diversity.
• Goal 4: The Refuge will, in partnership with others, conserve Refuge resources (e.g., fish and wildlife, cultural and archaeological, water and visitor experiences) for future generations.
• Goal 5: Quality scientific research and monitoring will guide Refuge management decision making.
• Goal 6: Strong, long-term, mutually-beneficial working relationships with Refuge stakeholders will lead to healthy sustainable fish and wildlife populations within the Refuge and the Yellow River Focus Area.
• Goal 7: The Refuge will provide the public quality wildlife-dependent uses of the Refuge (e.g. wildlife observation and photography, hunting, fishing, environmental education and interpretation) to foster the public’s understanding and appreciation of the Refuge, the National Wildlife Refuge System, and Service trust resources, and to expand the role the public plays in their stewardship.
• Goal 8: Necedah NWR will be a safe and healthy environment for employees, volunteers and visitors and will be pro-active in addressing a wide-range of conservation opportunities and issues.
• Goal 9: Technically skilled and diverse employees with high morale and job satisfaction will achieve high levels of stakeholder satisfaction.

The Yellow River Focus Area

The Yellow River Focus Area is a unique biological area that also has a considerable draw for people interested in residential develoopment, agriculture and recreation.

The area, which lies east of the Refuge in Wisconsin’s Central Sand Plain Natural Division, provides a unique opportunity to conserve rare and declining bottomland forest and adjacent upland habitat for the benefit of listed species, waterfowl and other migratory birds, and native biological diversity. According to Wisconsin’s Statewide Natural Area Inventory, extensive field reconnaissance by the Refuge, and other sources, the Yellow River Area represents one of the few remaining quality bottomland hardwood forest ecosystems in the Midwest. Many rare, uncommon and declining species of animals have been identified in the Yellow River Focus Area.

Throughout the planning process, we heard from both supporters and opponents of land acquisition by the Refuge within the Yellow River Focus Area. Some people expressed concern that acquisition by the Refuge would restrict future cranberry bed expansion, residential development, or impact the area's tax base. (Comments received in this planning process and responses to those comments can be found in Appendix K of the CCP.)

In developing the CCP, the Service developed three potential management alternatives for Necedah NWR. The preferred alternative, which was approved with final approval of the CCP, calls for the Refuge to work with willing landowners to conserve habitat in the Yellow River Focus Area. As in the past, this work could be to provide technical assistance to landowners who request it. Within the 21,952-acre Focus Area, the Service is now authorized to purchase land from willing sellers within the 14,684-acre Juneau County portion of the area.

Authorization to acquire land in the Yellow River Focus Area does not necessarily mean that land acquisition will occur any time soon. Acquisition will depend on two factors: landowners who are willing to sell their land and congressional appropriations that give the Refuge the money to buy land. Neither one is ever assured. Because the Service is committed to working with willing owners only, andy change in land ownership will occur gradually.

To Request a Copy

To request a copy of the the CCP, call or write to the Refuge Manager at:
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
W7996 20th Street West
Necedah, WI 54646
Phone: 608-565-2551
Fax: 608-565-3160
TTY: 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Relay)

Where Are We in the Planning Process?

These are the steps that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service follows in comprehensive conservation planning; the step that Necedah NWR has reached is highlighted:

1. Preplanning: Plan the Plan
2. Initiate Public Involvement and Scoping
3. Review Vision Statement and Goals and Determine Significant Issues
4. Develop and Analyze Alternatives, Including the Proposed Action
5. Prepare a Draft CCP and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Document
6. Prepare and Adopt Final CCP
7. Implement Plan, Monitor and Evaluate
8. Review and Revise the Plan

Last updated: March 18, 2009

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