Call to Action!
Friends, especially those who are living on Cape Cod, calling upon you to make your voices heard to appeal to the USFWS to grant a 6 month extension of time (to December 31, 2014) to allow citizens affected to thoughtfully respond to the recently released Monomoy NW Refuge Management Plan (Draft). The document is here.
This beautiful wild area near Chatham has been in the care of local residents and inhabitants for more than 1000 years. It has been a model of how human beings and wildlife can co-exist sustainably to the benefit of all. As a designated Wilderness area Monomoy does present an unusual opportunity for the USFWS to work creatively with our local population to explore this model together before final decisions are made.
Thanks to the Cape Cod Fisherman's Alliance and a group of local concerned citizens there are some simple things you can do to affect the request to extend the comment period:
Make several 5 minute phone calls to our Washington DC Representatives.
Here are the numbers:
Congressman William Keating: 508-771-0666
Senator Elizabeth Warren: 617-565-3170
Senator Ed Markey: 617-565-8519
Talking Points for these calls:
1) I live in Chatham and have concerns with the new draft management plan for the Monomoy National Wildlife refuge.
2) This area is vital to our community for a number of reasons, including centuries-long tradition of recreational and commercial harvest of our natural resources.
3) The draft plan proposes some very serious changes to how we define and manage this area and what activities are allowed, our community needs time to understand and respond to these proposals.
4) The USFWS took many years to develop this plan and we need the 6 month extension to properly understand the draft plan implications and respond with thoughtful comments.
5) I am asking the Senator/Congressman's help in getting a six month extension to the comment period (to December 31, 2014).