Wildlife conservationists encouraged to attend Yuma public meeting Sept. 16
Input accepted on draft EA regarding the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

PHOENIX —As a cooperating agency with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Arizona Game and Fish Department wants to remind its constituents to attend the public meeting regarding the draft environment assessment for Limiting Mountain Lion Predation on Desert Bighorn Sheep on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

The public meeting is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Pivot Point Conference Center, 200 North Madison Ave., in Yuma, Ariz. Directions to the Conference Center are available at www.pivotpointconferencecenter.com.

Hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), the public meeting will provide a forum for sharing information and facilitating public input regarding this important issue. The Service will provide a presentation, address questions and will staff multiple information stations during the open house portion of the meeting.

The Draft EA was announced Aug. 4 with a 60-day comment period open from Aug. 4 – Oct. 2. A copy of the Draft EA may be reviewed and downloaded from www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/kofa.

Once a very robust population, the number of bighorn sheep on the Kofa NWR has dropped significantly since 2000. The Kofa NWR sheep herd has played a critical role in reversing the decline of desert bighorn sheep for more than 50 years. The herd is a historic source population for re-establishing, supplementing, or expanding other sheep populations throughout the Southwest, in many cases bringing back this incredible species back to places they have not been for years.

To learn more about the struggling Kofa desert bighorn sheep herd, visit the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Web site at www.azgfd.gov/kofa.