Summary

Description

At Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, contaminants mean not only the trace elements proven harmful to biotic systems at certain concentrations, but the question of salinity, or salts, that may prove to be a more immediate concern to the continued wellbeing of the refuge marsh. This plan of action for Benton Lake is thus a bridge between the necessary world of research and the practical, downtoearth methods of land management to solve the contaminant problem. The problem has been studied for years, and study or monitoring will be a necessary part of future work. But now it is time to apply what has been learned and begin cleaning up the problem. This plan will first provide a background on the refuge environment which includes the refuge proper as well as the components and dynamics of the surrounding area. It will summarize research or contaminant monitoring that has been done to date, set objectives, and finally, list the actions necessary to ensure the longterm health of the refuge. Although actions will be carried out over the next 10 years, budget projections are only through 1995 as plan revisions will no doubt change some actions and thus dollar amounts.