Public meeting to discuss Coquille Valley Wildlife Area draft management plan, June 18

Anyone interested in the Coquille Valley Wildlife Area (CVWA) is encouraged to attend a public meeting June 18 in the Owens Building, Coos County Annex, 225 N. Adams, Coquille from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is presenting a draft management plan, answering questions and taking public comments. The draft plan describes issues facing CVWA and actions to address them. These include restoration projects to increase historic Coho and Chinook salmon habitats; re-establishing a forested wetland habitat to benefit salmon, cutthroat trout and lamprey; managing the landscape to provide food and rest for migrating birds; and providing access and quality waterfowl hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities. Comments received by July 2 will be incorporated into a final draft presented to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission for review and adoption at its August 7 meeting in Salem. The public can also testify at the Commission meeting. Comments can be emailed to Jeffrey.b.jackson@state.or.us or mailed to Jeff Jackson, ODFW, PO Box 5003, Charleston OR 97420. Once finalized, the adaptive CVWA Management Plan will be reviewed within five years and at least every 10 years thereafter to make any necessary changes. In 2013, ODFW exchanged its land on the east side of Eel Lake for nearly 584 acres in the lower Coquille River drainage belonging to Bandon Biota LLC. The Nature Conservancy assisted in the exchange and the CVWA now encompasses 584 acres in two parcels, the Winter Lake and Beaver Slough tracts. ODFW created a stakeholder committee that met over the course of two years to include the surrounding community’s interests in creation of the CVWA. The stakeholders included Oregon Hunter’s Association, South Slough National Estuarine Reserve, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Beaver Slough and Coaledo Drainage Districts, China Camp Creek Duck Club, adjacent landowners, representatives from local hunters, commercial and recreational fishing interests, and ODFW.