The national wildlife refuge at Pathfinder Reservoir is going to shrink by more than 10,000 acres, according to a federal plan that was approved Sept. 18 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Despite objections from the Audubon Society and others, Fish and Wildlife Service planners said a land transfer is needed so popular recreational uses can continue at most of the reservoir and to consolidate the federal migratory bird refuge into one contiguous area of land.

The 1997 National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act required each of the country's national wildlife refuges to publish a 15-year "comprehensive conservation plan" by 2012 that outlines management objectives and assesses whether certain recreational uses are compatible with the refuge system's mission to manage for migratory birds. The agency began working on a plan for Pathfinder in 2006 and published its final draft this year.

This month the agency found "no significant impact" in the environmental assessment of the plan, which is expected to publish as a final version by the end of the year. The plan calls for about 65 percent of the refuge's lands to transfer to the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, reducing the size of the refuge from 16,806 acres to 5,990 acres.

Members of Audubon Wyoming and the Murie Audubon Society in Casper say the agency is giving up on the refuge simply because it's difficult to manage. They're concerned about handing over refuge lands that are supposed to be managed for migratory birds to other federal agencies that may have other priorities, said Allison Holloran, conservation program director for Audubon Wyoming.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, they set up the refuge for the conservation of waterfowl and shorebirds. That is not what the BLM is out there to conserve and manage for. When you do turn it over, the waterfowl are not the top priority," she said.

In addition to migratory bird habitat, upland areas of the land transfer include habitat for sage grouse and mountain plover, she said.

About half of the Sweetwater Arm at the north end of the reservoir is slated to be transferred, along with three isolated tracts of land at the south end. One area of the land transfer is the Sage Creek Unit, which includes a portion of the North Platte River's "Miracle Mile" trout fishery.

'Difficult to manage'

Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge, located southwest of Casper, and three other national refuges near Laramie are currently managed by a small crew of four refuge employees who are all based in northern Colorado. The staffing problem makes isolated sections of Pathfinder refuge "difficult to manage," the agency's plan stated.

The plan calls for hiring a refuge employee to work full-time in Wyoming so the agency can devote more attention to the nearly 6,000 acres it will retain at the west end of the Sweetwater Arm.

The agency is keeping "the area that has the best habitat and where we can make a difference," said Toni Griffin, wildlife refuge planner for the mountain-prairie regional office of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The land transfer includes uplands and other areas that are less desirable wildlife habitat, especially since the refuge does not own any water rights, Griffin said. The Fish and Wildlife Service abandoned efforts to pursue water rights for the refuge in the 1960s. Then for the past 35 years the refuge has received little to no active management, the plan stated.

The longtime neglected refuge at Pathfinder has livestock fences in disrepair, a growing number of invasive plant species and no law enforcement presence, among other problems.

"The area really hasn't been managed in years," Holloran said. "They don't have control over the water, however that doesn't excuse the potential decision they're making. I think they should give it a better try, rather than just throwing up their hands and saying they can't do it."

Management options

When the agency's draft plan was released for public comment this year, it offered three alternatives:

* Alternative A, the required "no action" alternative, would have kept the boundaries intact and continued with current management practices, except that most recreational activities not related to wildlife - such as camping, ATV use and speedboating - probably would have been banned from refuge-controlled areas.

* Alternative B, which was supported by the Audubon Society and most others who provided comments, would have enhanced management activities at the refuge by adding a Wyoming staff member and seeking more funding. The agency would then work to improve wetland habitat where possible, coordinate with adjacent land agencies to better manage livestock grazing, among other actions. Most recreational activities not related to wildlife - such as camping, ATV use and speedboating - probably would have been banned from the refuge portions of the reservoir and lakeshore.

* Alternative C, the agency's preferred alternative approved this month, would transfer more than 10,000 acres to other federal agencies. Recreational uses would continue much as they have over the last 40 years. A Wyoming employee would be hired to devote more time to Pathfinder and the three refuges near Laramie.

Pathfinder Reservoir receives about 170,000 visitors annually. No data exist on how many people visit the refuge portion of the lake.

The agency received 16 public comments on the draft plan when it was released this summer - eight from citizens, seven from nongovernment organizations and one from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. All except the Game and Fish Department opposed transferring refuge lands to the BLM and Bureau of Reclamation.

Game and Fish preferred to keep the refuge intact, but officials with that agency said they understood the challenges of maintaining the current boundary and would support Alternative C as long as habitat improvements are made to the area that will remain a refuge, Griffin said.

'Repugnant' choices

Ted Lapis, an outdoorsman from Sheridan, thinks the public and Wyoming's wildlife are being shortchanged in the land transfer. He believes the agency framed the plan by offering only three "repugnant" choices: either no action, kicking recreational users off the refuge, or getting rid of more than 10,000 acres.

"I looked at their choices and said, 'You gotta be kidding me," Lapis said. "They're saying, 'There are these people and their refuge up in Wyoming - well, we'll just get rid of this problem.' It's an administrative problem for the [refuge staff] in Colorado, and it's really inconvenient for them to drive four hours to Pathfinder Reservoir, which they don't bother to do and never have."

Lapis said the agency is turning its back on its mission to protect wildlife by giving away most of the refuge. He would like to see refuge managers pursue water rights and improve the wildlife habitat on the lands it controls.

"That refuge got shrunk once, and they're trying to shrink it again. That refuge is crucial habitat for migratory birds, as well as mule deer, elk, antelope and sage grouse, and the Fish and Wildlife Service needs to pay attention to [its] own mission statement and not just do something that's to their judgment nice and convenient for four people in Colorado."

Griffin of the Fish and Wildlife Service said that once the land transfer took place, not much would change that the public would notice, except that a "no-wake" zone for boaters would probably be established on the refuge-controlled portion of the Sweetwater Arm. Hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing would continue on and off the refuge, and all other recreation, such as camping and ATV use, could continue at Pathfinder outside the refuge boundary.

Pathfinder: a haven for birds

President Theodore Roosevelt established the Pathfinder wildlife refuge by executive order in 1909 shortly after the construction of Pathfinder Dam.

The refuge shrank by more than 30,000 acres to its present size of 16,806 acres in the 1960s. This year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to transfer 10,816 acres to the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

The transfer would include the eastern half of the Sweetwater Arm Unit at the north end of the lake, including the Bishop's Point campground, plus the Goose Bay, Deweese Creek and Sage Creek units, which are the refuge's three isolated tracts at the southern end of the reservoir. The Sage Creek Unit includes a portion of the North Platte River's "Miracle Mile" trout fishery.

The refuge is a combination of open water, playa lakes, upland sagebrush habitat, grasslands, alkali flats, and meadows. Livestock grazing is permitted on portions of the refuge.

Pathfinder refuge is designated as an "Important Bird Area" by Audubon Wyoming and is used by 40 species of waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds for migration and nesting, including mountain plover, phalarope, avocet, redhead duck and scaup. Uplands support sage grouse, antelope and other species. The Sweetwater Arm Unit of the refuge contains at least one sage grouse lek.

President Theodore Roosevelt established the Pathfinder wildlife refuge by executive order in 1909 shortly after the construction of Pathfinder Dam.

The refuge shrank by more than 30,000 acres to its present size of 16,806 acres in the 1960s. This year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to transfer 10,816 acres to the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

The transfer would include the eastern half of the Sweetwater Arm Unit at the north end of the lake, including the Bishop's Point campground, plus the Goose Bay, Deweese Creek and Sage Creek units, which are the refuge's three isolated tracts at the southern end of the reservoir. The Sage Creek Unit includes a portion of the North Platte River's "Miracle Mile" trout fishery.

The refuge is a combination of open water, playa lakes, upland sagebrush habitat, grasslands, alkali flats, and meadows. Livestock grazing is permitted on portions of the refuge.

Pathfinder refuge is designated as an "Important Bird Area" by Audubon Wyoming and is used by 40 species of waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds for migration and nesting, including mountain plover, phalarope, avocet, redhead duck and scaup. Uplands support sage grouse, antelope and other species. The Sweetwater Arm Unit of the refuge contains at least one sage grouse lek.]]->