The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced the availability of a Draft Compatibility Determination for commercial fishing within Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge.Â
A release noted the public comment period would end March 5, however Amanda Wilkinson, visitor services and park ranger for South Arkansas Refuges Complex, later amended that date to Friday, March 12.
Interested parties are encouraged to review the draft determinations and provide written comments to the refuge manager.
A compatibility determination is the end result of a process whereby the refuge manager reviews a proposed use on a refuge and determines whether the use is compatible with the purpose for which the refuge was established. If determined to be compatible, then the use may be permitted. If the use is determined incompatible, then it is not permitted to occur on the refuge. Policy issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in October 2000 requires that compatibility determinations be