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Garrett Island Now Part of the National Wildlife Refuge System
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has purchased Garrett Island at the mouth of the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace, Md. The 198-acre island will be permanently protected as a national wildlife refuge division, according to Tony Léger, northeast regional chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
?This island offers all of us a place to learn about the Bay, its history, and its ecological importance,? said U.S. Representative Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.-1st), who sponsored the legislation authorizing the purchase. ?It is an important component of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, and I?m pleased that it will forever be protected and become another public resource for all of us.?
Situated at the head of the Bay, Garrett Island is largely undeveloped and provides important habitat for migratory birds and fish, including spawning areas for shad and striped bass. It is the only rocky island in the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
The purchase of Garrett Island culminates a six-year effort by the conservation community to protect the island from development, said Léger. Two area residents with support from the Cecil County Land Trust bought the island to conserve it in 1999 when plans were announced for a luxury hotel and amusement park.
The Conservation Fund purchased the property in 2004 with the intent of transferring it to the Service. As part of the 2001 Chesapeake Conservation Challenge, Bass Pro Shops and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation provided $150,000 to acquire Garrett Island. The Lenfest Foundation contributed additional funding.
?With a fabled history that includes nearly four centuries of human occupation, the landscape of Garrett Island remains remarkably wild,? said Nick Dilks, vice president of The Conservation Fund. ?Thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the leadership of Congressman Gilchrest, the island?s natural resources and recreational opportunities will be permanently protected.?
Garrett Island will be managed as part of the Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which also includes Blackwater, Eastern Neck, and Martin refuges, and several other Chesapeake Island refuges in Maryland.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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