Refuge Staff Members Help in Relief Effort

Lower Suwannee Refuge Staff Aid in Gulf Coast National Wildlife Refuges` Healing from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita



Four employees from Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge near Chiefland have served on the USFWS Hurricane Rita Response Team in southern Louisiana. Mike Legare, Vic Doig, Daniel Barrand, and Ken McCain provided immeasurable assistance in repairing and setting up travel trailers to provide temporary housing for Mississippi and Louisiana Refuge employees, removing trees and debris from roads, homes and driveways, and assisting with other emergency needs.

Lower Suwannee National Refuge Deputy Manager Mike Legare assisted with hurricane relief efforts in Louisiana for 5 weeks.

As residents of the Rita and Katrina-affected areas of Louisiana return home and begin to get back into their regular routines, some of the less-life-threatening, but nonetheless quality-of-life impacting situations will inevitably come to the forefront. Refuges along the gulf coast in both Mississippi and Louisiana will suffer the effects of Rita for years to come.

Damages to refuge facilities in Mississippi alone are estimated to be $100 million as many refuge buildings and levee systems received major damage. Refuge Manager Don Voros stated "We've had a USFWS Hurricane Response Team in the area since the day after the storm passed and they have done a remarkable job of taking care of our employees and their families. All employee families have some sort of roof over their heads, at this point--- and some type of power, and at least minimal bathroom facilities". The team is aiding local residents by clearing debris from their driveways, helping ranchers find cattle via helicopter, serving as a staging area for feeding and watering cattle via helicopter, taking residents to their homes by airboat when possible

Humans are not the only casualties of the hurricanes. Impacts to local fish and wildlife populations and coastal erosion caused by the storms are becoming apparent. Freshwater fish are floating within many of waterways because of saltwater intrusion or oxygen depletion. The carcasses of deer, muskrat, otter, alligators and other terrestrial wildlife dot the landscape because they could not escape the hurricane's tidal surge. Survivors have broken wings or damaged legs. Other wildlife without obvious bodily damage are also victims of Hurricane Rita. Much of the habitat they depended on for their daily needs has been destroyed by salt water or coated with toxic materials including gas and oil.

For more further information about the effects of Hurricane Rita on these refuges visit http://www.fws.gov/southeast