Refuge Purposes & Plans

The purposes for which the Refuge was established (under the Alaska National Interest Lands Act [ANILCA] of 1980) include the following:

(i) to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity, including but not limited to waterfowl, raptors, and other migratory birds; furbearers; moose; caribou (including participation in coordinated ecological studies and management of the Chisana caribou herd); salmon; and Dolly Varden;

(ii) to fulfill the international treaty obligations of the United States with respect to fish and wildlife and their habitats;

(iii) to provide, in a manner consistent with the purposes set forth in (i) and (ii), the opportunity for continued subsistence uses by local residents;

(iv) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable and in a manner consistent with the purposes set forth in (i), water quality and necessary water quantity within the refuge;

(v) to provide, in a manner consistent with subparagraphs (i) and (ii), opportunities for interpretation and environmental education, particularly in conjunction with any adjacent state visitors facilities.

Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Revision of the 1987 conservation plan was initiated in 2004.  Public meetings and scoping activities took place in communities in and near the Refuge in January 2005 (see the January 2005 planning update (pdf) for details. Additional public meetings were held in November 2007 and January 2008, during the public review period on the draft Revised Plan.  The final Revised Plan, which will guide management of Tetlin Refuge for the next 15 years, is now available for the public.  Click here to view or download the summary of the Revised Plan.  Click here to view or download the full version of the Revised Plan.  (Note:  Opening the full version of the Revised Plan will load the cover of the document.  Click on the bookmark icon (second icon on upper left) to access the rest of the document.  As this is the final Revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan, it contains no additional environmental analysis; no additional public review is required.  A Finding of No Significant Impact is included and implementation of the Revised Plan is now underway.

To be included on the mailing list for further information about the plan revision, send an e-mail to fw7_tetlin_planning @fws.gov or spring out, complete, fold, and mail this form (pdf).

Land Conservation Plan
At the time the land-conservation plan for the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge was developed, such plans were called “land-protection” plans. Link to Tetlin Land Protection Plan (pdf). The Table of Contents and Introduction may be viewed. Contact us for a copy of the full document.

Visitor Services Plan
In 1997, the refuge completed a public use management plan (a document now called a “visitor services plan”). This is a step-down plan to the comprehensive conservation plan and provided direction on implementing the conservation plan. The goal of the public-use program is to provide high-quality fish- and wildlife-oriented recreational, interpretive, and educational opportunities consistent with the refuge’s resource-oriented purposes.

The plan provides additional direction on management focusing on the following topics:

Last updated: March 9, 2011

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