US FWS logo

            The United States Fish and Wildlife Service was a major partner in the initial establishment of the Great Plains Nature Center.  Land purchase, building construction and design of the exhibit hall were paid for by this agency. 

MISSION STATEMENT
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior whose mission, working with others, is to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

Major responsibilities include: migratory birds, endangered species, freshwater and anadromous fish, the National Wildlife Refuge System, wetlands, protecting habitat, conserving coastal arteas, and environmental contaminants.

Lorrie Beck is the FWS employee on staff at the Great Plains Nature Center.
She is the Kansas coordinator for the Junior Duck Stamp contest.

Click here to see who submitted the winning entries for the Kansas Junior Duck Stamp contest for 2006 and to find out how to get an entry form for 2007.

Learn more about the Junior Duck Stamp contest by clicking here.

Image of Parks Pass

If you are interested in obtaining an Interagency Senior Pass or Interagency Access Pass, they are both available at the GPNC!  Stop by our front desk during normal hours to get yours.  (Please bring appropriate I.D.) 

Elsewhere in Kansas, these passes are also available at:

Cimarron National Grassland
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
Fort Scott National Historic Site

For more information on the America the Beautiful Pass program, see this website:
http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html

If you are interested in visiting one of the national wildlife refuges, there are several within a day's drive of Wichita.

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge - about 75 miles NW of Wichita.
Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge  - about 85 miles NE of Wichita.
Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge - about 145 miles ENE of Wichita.
Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge  - about 165 miles NW of Wichita.
Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge - about 75 miles SW of Wichita.
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge - about 200 miles NE of Wichita.
Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge - about 220 miles SSW of Wichita.

To learn more about these refuges and others across the nation visit the National Wildlife Refuge Web Site.

To explore the regional web site for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service covering the central and northern Great Plains, try the Region 6 web site.  For the southern Great Plains, try the Region 2 web site.

Visit the main web site for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Other GPNC Partners:

The City of Wichita
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

Return to the GPNC home page

Questions or comments?  Send Email to Jim Mason Spidey
Or write us at: 
Great Plains Nature Center
6232 E. 29th Street North
Wichita, KS 67220-2200             Call:  316-683-5499            Fax:  316-688-9555