Assessment Cover Letter

College of Agriculture and

Natural Resources

Department of

Community

Sustainability

Natural Resources Building

480 Wilson Road Room 131

East Lansing, MI 48824

517-353-5190

Fax: 517-432-3597

csus.msu.edu

OMB Control No. 0596-0236

Exp. 11/30/2020

June 15, 2018

Dear Saginaw Community Member:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking your input about the future of the Green Point Area of the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge), located in the City of Saginaw (location and site maps enclosed). The Green Point Area includes the Green Point Environmental Learning Center and the 135-acre former Germania golf course which was donated to the Refuge by the The Nature Conservancy in 2014. The Green Point Area is unique as it is part of a national wildlife refuge in a major city.

The mission of the Refuge is to conserve wildlife and their habitats, particularly migratory waterfowl (ducks and geese). As the Refuge begins to develop a site-specific restoration plan for the Green Point Area, they seek community engagement to understand the outdoor recreation needs of local residents and their perspectives about the Green Point Area. Their goal is to integrate, as much as possible, the needs of the community with the future ecological restoration of the Green Point Area.

To assist in community understanding, the Refuge is working with Michigan State University (MSU) to conduct a community needs assessment. This began when MSU facilitated three widely advertised public meetings in the Saginaw area during September, 2017. You are one of 1500 registered Saginaw County voters randomly selected (with assistance from the Saginaw County Clerk’s Office) to participate in this survey. Using opportunities suggested at the public meetings, this survey asks you to give your input about the future of the Green Point Area.

Please take the 15-20 minutes needed to complete the survey and mail it back to me in the postage paid envelope by August 15, 2018. Your participation is voluntary and you indicate your agreement to participate in this study by completing the questionnaire and mailing it back. Your responses will be confidential and your name will not be connected with the results. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. If you choose not to participate, to withdraw or not answer any particular question, you will not suffer any penalty. The results of the study will be publicly presented by MSU in Saginaw as part of the on-going ecological restoration process for the Green Point Area.

Thanks for your help to plan for the future of the Green Point Area. You will find more information about the Refuge at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/shiawassee/ .

Sincerely,

Dr. Chuck Nelson

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: We estimate it will take you 20 minutes to complete the survey, including time to read instructions, gather information, complete, and submit the assessment. We will use the information to assist with meeting community needs related to outdoor recreation opportunities that are compatible with refuge purposes and ecological restoration goals of the Service. Your response is voluntary. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. You may submit comments on any aspect of this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: BPHC, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803. Please do not send your survey to this address.