>> in the summer of 2010 u.s.fish & wildlife service employees began the process ofcharting the course for the future of the national wildliferefuge system. that journey has culminated inall of you being here at the conserving the futureconference.
you will have three days torefine the vision and begin the urgent and important work ofimplementation. nothing less than the future ofwildlife conservation in america is at stake.>> what we need to do is figure
out where we're going in thenext generation and how we're going to connect up to theamerican people. >> please rise for thepresentation of the colors by the u.s. fish & wildlife servicehonor guard and the national anthem, sung by gina swoope.>> please welcome to the stagetom melius, midwest regional director and cathy stepp,secretary of the wisconsin department of natural resources.[ applause ]
>> well, good morning, everyone.welcome to the midwest region. it's my pleasure to be a part ofthe opening ceremonies to this visioning conference becausewe're going to be getting busy pretty soon to help chart outthe pathway forward into the future for the national wildliferefuge system. but before we get started, it'sgreat to see people from all over the country, from allprograms of the agency, from representatives from a number ofstates and conservation organizations in attendance.i know in the midwest region we
have quite a few people in theaudience, and i'd like to take a moment just to have those peoplefrom the midwest region raise their hands.i know the midwest region is also the home for many of theemployees that have started their careers or have workedduring their tenure here in the midwest region.let's see a show of hands who have worked in the midwestregion. now, i know there's a number offolks that haven't raised their hands and are probably a littleenvious.
[ laughter ]because they know in the midwest region there's three or fourthings that stand out... first, it's fashion.where else can you wear camouflage to a formal event andit's very appropriate? cuisine, we always have the fourfood groups at every meal... venison, fish, brats and cheese.and where, if you go to a potluck and you bring a fruitjell-o, you get credit for three dishes.you got a salad, you got a side dish and you got dessert.the weather... all four seasons
are here in the mid-west,pre-winter, winter, post-winter, road construction.but, really, folks, it's because in the midwest region we have 54great wildlife refuges, 12 wetland management districts,over 40 friends groups, an active fisheries program,ecological services, mike raw migratory birds and over 12hundred people of the fish & wildlife and it's anhonor to be their regional director in the host region ofthis conference. now, this region has eight greatstates, minnesota, michigan,
ohio, indiana, illinois, iowa,missouri and the great state of wisconsin.so it is fitting today to be able to have the secretary ofthe wisconsin department of natural resources be here togive us a welcome to the state of wisconsin.now, cathy stepp has not been a person unfamiliar to government.from 2002 to 2006 she was a state senator from racine andwhile she was in the senate, she was a cochair of the environmentand natural resources committee. governor walker recentlyappointed cathy as the new
secretary of the wisconsin dnr,and so please let's welcome, cathy stepp.[ applause ] >> good morning!i had no idea tom was such a stand-up comedian.had i known that i would have prepared much more thoroughlyand got in a few shots at his home state.but we're going to let it slide in the interest of linking armsand protecting our natural resources which is what we havethe privilege of doing in the great state of wisconsin throughthe state wisconsin dnr and
getting to work with partnerslike tom and all of you in our national service and the u.s.fish & wildlife. the dedication and theinspiration that i see on a daily basis from my staff andfor many of you that i've actually had the pleasure ofmeeting on occasion during my travels around the state reallyinspire me every day. i tell anybody who will listento me that i have the best job in state government.i have the pleasure and the honor to be able to representover 2,000 men and women who get
out of bed every day, and it'snot going to a job, it's living out their mission and theirpassion and their spirit for our state and our natural resourcesthat we all hold so dear. it is really an honor for me tobe the window dressing for all the hard work that they do everysingle day. we certainly have a lot ofnatural resources here in wisconsin and tom shared a fewof those with you. we've got the statistics to talkabout all the different species and endangered resources that wework so hard to protect.
but, really, the thing that wehave most to offer to our residents here in wisconsin andto all of you who we expect to spend a lot of money whileyou're here is fabulous tourism opportunities and recreationalopportunities that span the gamut of all different kinds ofthings you can do in our great outdoors but we know we wouldn'tbe able to do any of those kinds of things were it not for thehard working men and women who work so hard around or countryto build up and to work and do the maintenance and to work withthe friends groups to get people
out there to do the hands-onwork that has to be done in our properties across the country.the unsung heroes really are sitting in the room with ustoday and certainly more of them back at home that weren't ableto attend the conference today. i just want to thank you notjust as a representative of our state and of governor walker'sadministration but most importantly to thank you as amom. when i take my kids on vacationand we have the opportunity to be able to visit all of thesefabulous properties it is a gift
that you are carrying on to mychildren, and certainly down to my children's children andbeyond. it's through your hard work anddedication and the motivation that you show every day thatwe're able to offer that to our children.we've got a lot of different species like i talked about inwisconsin and we're going to show you a short video to bragabout all of our good stuff in a minute, whooping cranes,bulletter flies, warblers, and the piping pulver.say that three times fast.
like tom said, we have eightnational wildlife refuges and two wetland management districtshere in wisconsin, over 182,000 acres right here in our statealone. we have about 130 permanentemployees in wisconsin of the u.s. fish & wildlife servicedoing everything from the management of the refuges,working with private landowners, which is so important, too,raising fish and, of course, enforcement of the federalfish & wildlife laws. the key to our mutual successand interest certainly a strong
partnership between our agenciesat all levels of our organizations from the boots onthe ground like you all to the upper levels of administrationlike tom. i want to wish you the best ofluck today in your visioning conference and i know you'realready mindful of the critical role that state agencies play inachieving that shared vision that we have.please enjoy our rich outdoor heritage, natural resources thatwe have to offer, and just a quick plug for you, we do atwisconsin dnr have a one-day
fishing license for a veryaffordable $8, and the bluegills are biting in lake monona rightoutside. so thank you for yourhospitality. make sure to take a piece ofwisconsin home with you tonight. thank you.[ applause ] [ music ][ applause ] >> thank you, cathy, for thatvideo. i think it's a great way to --for people to understand the great resources here in themidwest and specifically in
wisconsin.just a little trivia question... of the eight regional directorsin the fish & wildlife service, which one was born march 1st,1951, just down the road in west bend, wisconsin?you got it. everybody have a greatconference! everybody have a great day!welcome to wisconsin! [ applause ]>> please welcome back to the stage tom melius and mayor paulsoglin of the city of madison. well, good morning![ laughter ]
this is where we like to beflexible as we go through the agenda.my other duties were to also introduce the mayor who was alittle delayed in traffic in getting here, but he hasarrived, and so i'm joined on stage by the mayor of madison,and i want to just say a few things, because last nightmayor, we had a reception on the rooftop here, and thank you forordering both the heat and the coolness here in madison.we had great time and i think paul was -- we'll give him around of applause just to thank
him for the weather that he wasable to provide. now, paul has been a mayor for anumber of years, first elected in 1973.shortly after his 28th birthday.he also has been very active here in madison and here in thisconvention center. first conceived by frank lloydwright back in the '30s, this convention center opened just 14years ago in 1997. paul is also not only the mayorof madison, he's an adjunct professor at the university ofwisconsin and if you've been
able to get around a little bitin this great state and this particular city, you will seethere's a lot of bike trails, and i think that's a little bitof a compliment of paul's interest as a bicyclist.so would you please welcome to the stage paul soglin, mayor ofmadison. paul?[ applause ] >> thank you and i certainly dowant to welcome all of you. this has been a really wonderfulweek here in madison, and principally because you're here.i want to just go back a little
bit to a day in 1984.i was sitting in my office looking out the window, tryingto recall now how old i was then, i guess, 39, an honest 39.i looked out the window and i saw a bird here in madison thati'd never seen before. not that i know much aboutbirds, but at least i know what i hadn't seen.this particular instance, as it turned out, it was a hawk.i was 39 years old and i had never seen a hawk.not at least in chicago where i was raised or here in wisconsin.think about that... and think
about today when you stepoutside, when you go a couple of miles to the east to the west,to where i live, a good part of the day you look up in the sky,you're going to see a bird of prey.things have changes significantly since 1984 andcertainly since the 1950s. what's changed hopefully,permanently, is our appreciation of our environment, ourunderstanding that cities, as well as rural and rustic areas,are part of that environment, and an understanding that wehave an obligation to future
generations, not just toourselves. we have an obligation tounderstand the meaning of looking in the sky, not just tothat single bird, but what that bird represents.nowadays, we are hearing a great deal at all levels ofgovernment, and if you've read this morning's paper, you seethat we face the problems right here in madison.we hear great deal about tough resources, allocation of whatrevenues government has, and making difficult decisions interms of allocations.
it's time we sat back and youare an important part of the discussion, because you knowfirsthand the consequences of doing good things.it's time that we sat back and had a discussion about ourvalues. what is important to us, what ismeaningful to us. when we built this building, itwas not easy. part of the difficulty wasraising the funds, the $64 million.but there were other things we had to deal with, which werejust as difficult.
there was a bike path aroundlake monona that had cost us $50,000 to build.i was often asked what was the thing i was most proud of asmayor, and i would say that bike path.$50,000, no moving parts, brought joy and happiness tothousands of people every week who used it.we had to figure out how to work the design of this building sothat the bike path would not be interrupted, and those of youwho have got a chance to get out on a bicycle if you're not goingto fish, you'll find that this
is the only bike path in theworld that has an elevator. you'll find it at the east endof the building. we also had to contend withissues regarding the fish. and as it turns out, the folkswe worked with, the experts we worked with, folks like you,were correct... if we built this building properly, as it hungout over the lake, this did not drive away the fish, and, infact, standing off the edge of the building here you'll findpeople fishing every day because this has become a habitat thatthe fish enjoy.
but it takes thoughtful peoplesuch as yourself to help us do this kind of planning, whetherit has to deal with that hawk or these fish or the bicyclists.we all work together. can't promise this kind ofweather for the rest of the week but i certainly hope you enjoyit. thank you for being here.[ applause ] >> and so with that, an officialwelcome to this midwest region, to the great state of wisconsin,to the great city of madison. let's have a great conference.thank you!
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