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COPY FOR YOUR <br /> INFORMATION 10 : Mayor's E UGENE y0 's Office <br /> Kitty Piercy <br /> February 4, 2005 City of Eugene <br /> 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 <br /> Eugene, Oregon 97401 -2793 <br /> Mr. Steve Williams (541) 682 -5410 <br /> (541) 682 -5414 Fax <br /> Director <br /> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <br /> 1849 C Street, NW, MIB 3012 U <br /> Washington, D.C. 20240 <br /> RE: Expansion Proposal of the Finley NWR for Eugene, Oregon. S <br /> Dear Mr. Williams: <br /> The City of Eugene has been informed that the US Fish & Wildlife Service has decided not to <br /> proceed with plans to expand the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge to our area. We <br /> appreciate the time you and your staff have committed to reviewing this proposal and would like to <br /> seek feedback on how we may improve the project so that it would better meet the goals of the <br /> Service. There is a tremendous amount of community support for the expansion and we are very <br /> interested in partnering with the US Fish & Wildlife Service to manage the biologically rich lands <br /> within the proposed expansion. <br /> Our success with the West Eugene Wetlands partnership demonstrates how we can work <br /> collaboratively with Federal agencies and non - profit groups. Kathleen Clarke, Director of the <br /> Bureau of Land Management, called our program a "national model" of how communities and the <br /> Federal government can work together to care for our land and achieve multiple goals. Jim <br /> Connaughton, President Bush's Chair for the Council of Environmental Quality, visited our <br /> program last Fall and was amazed at how we have leveraged local, State, and Federal resources to <br /> create a fantastic multiple objective program that is widely supported by the community. We would <br /> like to continue this model by working closely with the US Fish & Wildlife Service. <br /> There are a few key issues regarding the proposed expansion that may not have been clearly <br /> identified in the Preliminary Project Proposal that was forwarded to you on September 14, 2004 by <br /> the Refuge Chief. They are outlined below: <br /> 1. Future Growth - The lands proposed for the expansion are outside of the Urban Growth <br /> Boundary of the Eugene / Springfield metropolitan area. Urban Growth Boundaries in <br /> Oregon are the outer most limit of urban development allowed by State law. We do not <br /> foresee any problems with future growth conflicts due to the proposed expansion. <br /> 2. Recovery of Trust Species - At the present time, a Recovery . Plan for all listed species in the <br /> Willamette Valley is being developed, including the Fenders Blue Butterfly. All indicators <br /> from members of the USFWS recovery team are that this study area is considered crucial <br /> for the protection and recovery of these listed species, especially the Fenders Blue <br /> Butterfly and its host plant, Kincaid's Lupine. Therefore, this expansion would assist with <br /> long -term, "trust species" protection, and the expertise available through the USFWS is <br /> needed and warranted. <br /> 3. Augmenting wildlife management in the area - The USFWS has a core mission to manage <br /> for wildlife. This expertise would fill a gap for the West Eugene Wetlands program. We <br />