Success Stories - Wilmington Co-location
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie-Carterville Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office Co-location
The U.S. Forest Service's Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have formed a new partnership. Together, the two are working to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. Recently, Wade Spang, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Supervisor signed a formal agreement using Service First partnership authority. The partnership enables the USFWS to locate staff and resources closer to the Chicago Area Waterways/Electric Dispersal Barrier, where the Asian carp battle is occurring.
"Midewin is more than happy to share our facilities in support of the work of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service," said Spang. "Midewin understands how critical water quality is for everyone. We need to protect our water resources from Asian carp." Major cost reductions are being seen by the USFWS in travel expenses. Prior to the agreement, employees had to travel with their equipment between Marion, IL and their work area, which was around 300 miles and a drive time of around five hours.