The Summit: A pivotal meeting of many mindsAgreeing onmeasurable priorities for the next five to 15 years

Welcome to the Conservation inAction Summit, where approximately250 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serviceemployees and representatives ofpartner organizations, state agencies,nonprofit refuge Friends groups andothers will identify measurablepriorities to guide the Refuge Systemfor the next five to 15 years.

"This is one of the most importantgatherings in the history of theNational Wildlife Refuge System,"said U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceDirector Steve Williams. "I greatlyappreciate the fact that so manypeople have taken time from theirschedules to come and help us build astrong future for the Refuge System."

"I am heartened to see representativesfrom so many states, communitygroups, local conservation organiza-tions and Friends groups," Williamscontinued. "I especially want to thankEvan Hirsche, president of the Na-tional Wildlife Refuge Association,and Bob Byrne of the WildlifeManagement Institute, who served asthe executive committee of thissummit with our own Deputy Chief ofthe Refuge System, Jim Kurth."

"This summit is a pivotal step on thepath we blazed in Keystone, CO,when we formulated our Fulfillingthe Promise vision," said RefugeSystem Chief Bill Hartwig. "Thedecisions we make at this summit,and the information we gather, will be

used to guide our next steps down thatpath. They will be used by CARE(Cooperative Alliance for RefugeEnhancement) to inform the publicand Congressional leaders about thedirection of the Refuge System. Whatwe do here makes a huge difference."

AHugeOpportunity"The summit is a great opportunity todevelop a focused view of where theRefuge System is headed in light ofthe Refuge Improvement Act andtoday's tough budgetary climate,"noted Bob Byrne of the WildlifeManagement Institute.

"This is one of the most importantgatherings in the history of theNational Wildlife Refuge System,"said U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceDirector Steve Williams. (USFWS)

Today's Agenda1 p.m. Opening Plenary

Robert Byrd Auditorium

1:10 p.m. IntroductionJudge Craig Manson,Assistant Secretary of theInterior for Fish,Wildlifeand Parks

1:30 p.m. The Honorable GaleNorton, Secretary of theInteriorWelcome and Keynote

2 p.m. Lynn Greenwalt, FormerDirector, U.S. Fish andWildlife Service andCentennial Commissionmember"Where We Have Been andWhere Are We Going?"

3 p.m. Robert Fischman, IndianaUniversity School of Law --Bloomington"The NationalWildlifeRefuge SystemImprovement Act"

3:30 p.m. Summit Overview presentedby Executive Committee

7 p.m. Evening ProgramSpecial Announcement:John Berry, National Fishand Wildlife FoundationRoosevelt Room

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"Participants willconcentrate on identifyingactionable goals during theConservation in ActionSummit as we work toformulate a strong, sharedsense of priorities for theRefuge System."

-- Refuge System ChiefBill Hartwig

Discussions at the Conservation inAction Summit will revolve aboutworking papers developed by fourtopical teams, composed of RefugeSystem employees, nongovernmentpartner organizations, Friends groupsand volunteers. The teams haveexamined central questions that willconfront the Refuge System in thenext five to 15 years.

Additionally, summit participants willdiscuss the work of a fifth team,Leadership, during a presentation byU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceDeputy Director Marshall Jones. TheLeadership Team was chaired byConservation Planning & PolicyDeputy Chief Barry Stieglitz andDeputy Refuge Chief Jim Kurth.

The four other teams and their leadersare:

Science Team, chaired by Chief ofInformation Technology and Man-

agement KenGrannemannand Region5 RefugeChief TonyLeger,developeddraft recom-mendationsto improvethe RefugeSystem'scapacity tocarry out

science-based management to protectthe environmental health, biologicalintegrity and biological diversity ofrefuges. Science-based management iscritical for two reasons: it helps the

Refuge System better meet itsmission, and it enables the USFWS tomore effectively contribute to broadernational and internationalconservation efforts. The NationalWildlife Refuge System ImprovementAct of 1997 recognizes thecomplexities of natural resourcemanagement on refuges and calls forintegration of sound science in theRefuge System's management.

Topical team's papers are key to Summit deliberations

Wildlife Dependent RecreationTeam, chaired by Visitor Services and

Communi-cationsChiefAllysonRowell andRegion 7RefugeChief ToddLogan,noted thatthe RefugeImprove-ment Actdirectly

relates compatible wildlife dependentrecreation to the Refuge System'smission. The team also stressed that,by engaging Americans in qualityoutdoor wildlife recreation, they willfind personal gratification, learnabout wildlife and its habitat and,ultimately, become engaged inwildlife conservation. The teamsuggested that the Refuge Systemprovide more quality hunting andfishing opportunities, wildlifeobservation and photography,environmental education andinterpretation opportunities.

Wildlife and Habitat Team, chairedby Natural Resources Chief TomStewart and Region 2 Refuge ChiefDom Ciccone, focused on core issuesthat occupy the Refuge System - theland and resources conserved onbehalf of future generations. The teamhas looked at the conservation andimprovement of marine and estuarineresources, the control and eradicationof invasive species, a variety of firemanagement issues, including the useof prescribed fire where it will benefitRefuge System resources, migratorybird conservation, the means to assureadequate water resources, andassistance in the recovery ofendangered and threatened speciesthrough habitat management.

Strategic Growth Team, chaired byChief of Realty A. Eric Alvarez andRegion 4 Refuge Chief Jon Andrew,

has delvedinto anationallycoordinatedapproach toprioritizelands to beconservedwithin theRefugeSystem inorder tocontribute to

the conservation of entire ecosystems.The team has considered thefinancial, political, andorganizational constraints impactingthe Refuge System as well as how itsconservation work will complementthat of states and other federalagencies.

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Welcome to the Summit!

Ken Grannemann

Allyson Rowell

Eric Alvarez

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Breakout sessions: First step to consensus on prioritiesThe first steps toward identifyingshared priorities at the Conservationin Action Summit will be taken duringbreakout sessions Tuesday andWednesday, when each participantcan voice opinions on four topicswildlife and habitat, wildlife depen-dent recreation, strategic growth andscience - thoroughly analyzed byteams, whose working papers are thebasis of discussions at the summit.

Each breakout session, focused on onetopic area and limited to approxi-mately 60 people, will start with a 10-minute team leader presentation,which outlines the findings and ideascontained in the working paper. Thebreakout group will have an opportu-nity to analyze the team's findingsand add priorities to those identifiedby the team.

Every summit participant will join abreakout session on each topic area.

After the team leader's presentation,breakout participants will be split intosmaller working groups. Participantswill select their working group basedon which of the team's identifiedpriorities, or goals, they consider mostimportant. Groups must be comprisedof at least five people to be consid-ered "viable" by the consultant/facilitator in the room. Groups withmore than 12 may be subdivided.

Each working group will be assigned ateam member to serve as an informa-tion resource and provide guidanceabout the team's deliberations, theNational Wildlife Refuge SystemImprovement Act and other informa-tion. The working group will then

develop a list of up to three actionitems they believe will improve thetopic's status. Each working group'sdecisions will be presented to the fullbreakout session.

After all breakout sessions have beenconcluded by late Wednesday after-noon, the consultants/facilitators willdevelop a ballot listing all prioritiesand action items identified during thebreakout sessions.

At the plenary session Wednesdayafternoon, summit attendees will voteon which priorities and action itemsare most important. The summitexecutive committee will present theresults Thursday during the "Wrap itUp" session.

Summit attendees will hear from a variety of speakersAn array of speakerswill addresssummit participants, beginningtoday with Interior Secretary GaleNorton, who will open the confer-ence with a keynote welcomeaddress at 1:20 p.m.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceDirector Steve Williams will closethe conference with his personalcall to action on Thursday, May 27.

In between will be more than adozen speakers ranging from arefuge manager; a representative ofa Friends organization; a member ofthe Centennial Commission andformer director of the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service; and a law profes-sor. Refuge System Chief BillHartwig will present his challengesfor the next century in a presenta-tion Tuesday at 8 a.m.

Former Director of the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service Lynn Greenwalt, amember of the Centennial Commis-sion, will speak on "Where We HaveBeen and Where We Are Going,"today at 1:40 p.m. Greenwalt workedon refuges in Utah, Oklahoma, andNew Mexico and regional offices inNew Mexico, Oregon, and Minnesota.

Indiana University--Bloomington lawprofessor Robert Fischman will speakon "The National Wildlife RefugeSystem Improvement Act" today at 3p.m.

Rollin Sparrowe, president emeritus ofWildlife Management Institute willdiscuss "Working Together for theNext Century of Conservation -- AShared Sense of Priorities" Tuesday at11 a.m.

The president of Friends of BlackBayou, Inc., Ann Smith, willprovide "A Friend's Perspective"Wednesday at 8 a.m.

Also on Wednesday, Dr. MichaelSuk, White House Fellow to theDepartment of the Interior willaddress "Refuges and Recreationfor a Healthier US" at 4 p.m.

Refuge Manager Robin West willprovide "A Refuge Manager'sPerspective" Thursday at 8:30 a.m.West is the manager of the KenaiNWR, AK -- one of the nation'smost visited refuges.

"Not only will the summit identifyspecific priorities -- and obstacles --to getting core missions accom-plished," noted Byrne, "but it willalso give CARE an opportunity toidentify the Refuge Systemís needsand explain those needs to Congress."

"Most of us are so overwhelmed withcompeting tasks and requirements,that we rarely have a chance to stepback and evaluate what constitutes apriority," noted Hirsche. "The summitbrings together a diverse group ofpartners with Fish and WildlifeService employees who, aligned insupport of a few, well-defined priori-ties, will be able to make a significantdifference for the Refuge System."

History of the SummitPlanning for the summit began inAugust 2003, when conservationpartners and representatives of theRefuge System and Friends groupsgathered for a brainstorming session

"Most of us are so overwhelmedwith competing tasks and require-ments, that we rarely have a chanceto step back and evaluate whatconstitutes a priority." -- NationalWildlife Refuge Association Presi-dent Evan Hirsche (Dick Cole/USFWS)

"The summit is a great opportunityto develop a focused view of wherethe Refuge System is headed in lightof the Refuge Improvement Act andtoday's tough budgetary climate." --Bob Byrne, Wildlife ManagementInstitute (Dick Cole/USFWS)

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in Washington, DC, to identify themost pressing issues.

The groups agreed that the RefugeSystem faced challenges in four areas:wildlife and habitat, wildlifedependent recreation, science andstrategic growth. The three-memberexecutive committee - Hirsche,Byrne and Kurth - named a RefugeSystem division chief and a regionalchief to co-chair each team, assignedto assemble information and identifypotential actions.

The co-chairs, in turn, selectedUSFWS field personnel and membersof conservation organizations andFriends groups to serve on the teams,whose working papers form the basisfor vibrant discussions during thesummit. The teams have spentmonths culling information andviewpoints from relevantorganizations.

Additionally, more than 500 USFWSemployees participated in six Webchats during the months leading up tothe summit, providing comments onthe teams' working papers andidentifying issues they confront daily.

The executive committee reviewedthe working papers and produced anExecutive Committee Report tosummarize the findings and betterfocus discussions at summit.

"The teams have done an admirablejob of capturing the most pressingissues and most vexing challengesfacing refuges," concluded Hartwig."Now, participants must concentrateon identifying actionable goals duringthe summit as we work to formulate astrong, shared sense of priorities forthe Refuge System."

"The teams have done anadmirable job of capturing the mostpressing issues and most vexingchallenges facing refuges." --Refuge System Chief Bill Hartwig(Dick Cole/USFWS)

The Summit (cont'd from p. 1)