For Immediate Release

Rhode Island Refuges Under Threat Due to Lack of Funds

Educational programs for school children slashed

WASHINGTON – Rhode Island’s national wildlife refuges are being forced to shut down their educational programs due to lack of funding, according to a new report released Thursday by Defenders of Wildlife.

Defenders of Wildlife released the report, entitled “Refuges at Risk,” in advance of National Wildlife Refuge Week, October 7-14. It highlights 10 wildlife refuges, including Rhode Island’s, throughout the country that are feeling the effects of years of inadequate federal funding and a failure to uphold core refuge values.

The report marks the 10-year anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, which outlines core values and standards for all national refuges to meet. “Years of inadequate budgets and staffing have steadily eroded the refuges’ ability to adequately comply with the mandates of the refuge improvement act,” the report states.

Over the last decade, decreased federal funding for wildlife refuges has created an operations and maintenance backlog of $2.5 billion. The system is now poised to lose 20 percent of its staff nationwide. At Rhode Island’s refuges, important conservation land acquisition has become impossible while long-standing educational programs that brought children to the refuge from city schools are being cut.

“Many of our kids are never normally exposed to nature and the outdoors” said Mary Lou Almonte, a principal intern at Tower Street Elementary in Westerly. “They love being out in the wilderness, learning about ecology and taking care of animals. It’s a shame that the refuge no longer has someone to help children get the most out of their visit.”

“The Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex is one of the most important remaining habitats along the East Coast,” said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. “Over 300 species of birds can be found here, along with Rhode Island’s last coastal ponds. Nearly half a million people visit here each year to experience and be taught about nature. However, years of congressional neglect and the current administration’s lack of support is crippling these refuges.”

The Refuge Improvement Act, passed 10 years ago, recognized the importance of environmental education to foster greater understanding and appreciation of wildlife and nature in America’s youth. The act prioritized environmental education programs and other wildlife-dependent uses of refuges over all other uses of the refuge system. Defenders’ report, however, documents the slashing of refuge environmental education programs.

The Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex consists of five separate refuges totaling 2,600 acres. Established in the mid-1970s, the complex contains important migratory bird habitat along the Atlantic Flyway. The refuge complex maintains a goal of ultimately protecting approximately 5,000 acres.

“As a member of the Natural Resources Committee, I fully recognize the importance of these areas to Rhode Islanders and all Americans,” said Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI).  “I am deeply troubled that our state’s most treasured areas and the good stewards who watch them are being threatened by a severe lack of funding.  We must act now to preserve these unique places before they are lost forever.” 

To read the full report, go to http://www.defenders.org/refugesatrisk

Top 10 Refuges at Risk (in alphabetical order)

Cape May NWR, NJ – Each year, thousands of migratory songbirds, including the ruby-crowned kinglet and the Nashville warbler, arrive at this crucial stopping ground for birds traveling on the Atlantic Flyway. But year after year, they arrive to find that their precious habitat is not as they left it. Illegal all-terrain vehicle use, barely hindered by the refuge’s lone refuge enforcement officer, is tearing up the habitat, disturbing nesting birds and jeopardizing their food sources.

Hailstone NWR, MT – This refuge is a vital hub for hundreds of migratory bird species that use the 300-acre lake and the surrounding area as a stopover and breeding ground. However, agricultural runoff has allowed excess salt and selenium from the soil to accumulate in the wetlands, and each year mallards, American white pelicans and hundreds of other species are harmed or even killed by the deteriorating water quality.

Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR, TX – The territories of jaguarundi and ocelot extend into Texas from Mexico, where these rare cats roam among 300 species of butterfly and more than 500 species of birds. But the cats’ territories are not bound by international borders, and their habitat is threatened by a border wall that could destroy the biological integrity of the entire region.

Nisqually NWR, WA – For years, local children living in an increasingly developed region have enjoyed and learned from this rich landscape, where pacific tree frogs chorus in the night and river otters dart after fish. Fewer children will be given this opportunity, however, as refuge staff are forced to cut back or eliminate educational programs that teach America’s future leaders how to appreciate and protect our environment.

Pea Island NWR, NC – This refuge boasts an enormous array of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, including breeding American oystercatchers and loggerhead sea turtles. A planned replacement bridge and highway would carve through the heart of refuge wetlands, requiring constant maintenance as even mild storms regularly inundate the road with sand and ocean water.

Rappahannock River Valley NWR, VA – With one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles on the East Coast, this refuge provides wildlife with an island of wilderness in a region where urban development is steadily encroaching. Without the funds to acquire available neighboring land, the refuge is at risk of bring surrounded by development, making the refuge into a decorative center piece instead of a crucial wildlife oasis.

Rhode Island NWR Complex, RI – Local children have long been taught the importance of the wildlife, habitat and ecology of Rhode Island’s five refuges that provide a haven for thousands of birds traveling the Atlantic Flyway, including hawks, falcons and songbirds. But lack of funds has forced refuge staff to cease their educational programs, despite an increasingly desperate need for environmental education in a quickly developing area.

San Luis NWR, CA – With 95 percent of California’s wetlands drained, filled or destroyed, this critical stopover and wintering grounds for migratory ducks, geese and cranes along the Pacific Flyway is a haven for the weary travelers. But the water they find there is decreasing in quality and quantity, year upon year, due to commercial competition for California’s limited water supply.

Trempealeau NWR, WI - Thousands of wood ducks and black terns share these Wisconsin skies, located at the confluence of the Trempealeau and Mississippi rivers, with monarch butterflies, blue-winged teal, hooded mergansers and tundra swans. But these native beauties are under attack from a marching army of invasive plants and animals that severely undermine the environmental health of the refuge.

Yukon Flats NWR, AK – The retreat of a bitter winter and the arrival of spring brings millions of waterfowl to the refuge, where they transform the landscape from a quiet wilderness to a chaotic courtship and breeding ground. Efforts to drill for oil and natural gas in the refuge are threatening this ancient ritual as an ill-conceived land swap aims to trade away key habitat to industrial developers.

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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 900,000 members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.