Public comment on the final draft of a 15-year management plan for the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge is being sought this week at two meetings in Tallulah and Winnsboro.

If you go

Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge 15-year management plan public comment meetings will be Tuesday and Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Tuesday meeting will be at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Scott Research Extension Education Center, 212 Macon Ridge Road in Winnsboro, while the Wednesday meeting will be at the Tallulah Community Center on Beach and Neal streets.

“The 15-year plan is a framework for pretty much every aspect of what we do, from forest management and biological studies to wildlife conservation and public use of the refuge,” said Tensas River NWR Manager Kelly Purkey.

Meetings will be Tuesday and Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Wednesday meeting will be at the Tallulah Community Center on Beach and Neal streets, and the Tuesday meeting will be at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Scott Research Extension Education Center, 212 Macon Ridge Road in Winnsboro.

Purkey said the final draft of the plan may be revised following the meetings depending on the comments provided by the public. The 15-year management plan will be formally approved about 30 days after the meetings. Those who cannot attend either meeting but would like to submit a written comment may contact Tina Chouinard by phone at 731-780-8208 or via e-mail at Tina_Chouinard@fws.gov. 

The 71,217-acre refuge is located about 25 miles southwest of Vicksburg and encompasses portions of Madison, Tensas and Franklin parishes.

The administrative office, visitor center and maintenance facilities are on the refuge about12 miles southwest of Tallulah.

Tensas River NWR hosts one of the last concentrations of the Louisiana black bear, which is federally listed as threatened. The area is also the last documented home of the ivory-billed woodpecker, officially listed as endangered but widely considered to be extinct.

The refuge was established in 1980 in an effort to preserve the largest privately owned tract of bottomland hardwood forest in the country. At one time, the alluvial valley consisted of 25 million acres of forested wetlands that extended from Illinois to Louisiana. Over 90 percent of the original forest has been cleared for agricultural use.

“Our biggest priorities are wildlife conservation and forest management,” said Purkey. “We consider the impacts on forest management and wildlife populations before we make any final decisions on public use.” 

Purkey said the effort to develop a 15-year management plan for the refuge began four years ago, at which point initial public comment meetings were held. The first draft was finished about a year ago, and the final draft, last week.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principle federal agency responsible for managing the Tensas River NWR, in addition to the about 560 other refuges throughout the country.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com.