THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508040183
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
John P. Stasko, the new manager of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, is no stranger to controversy.
As manager of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md., Stasko squared off against the military over whether to sell some surplus Army property for development at a profit or give it to the adjacent wildlife refuge.
As a result, the refuge got the land, which nearly tripled its size. Acreage slated for houses, schools and shopping centers is now prime wildlife habitat.
``I like to look at myself as a consensus builder,'' said Stasko, a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ``I've worked on a lot of controversial issues. Although the people involved have had to compromise, no one thought that their mission was compromised in the end.''
It's those skills that helped land Stasko at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, which is at a critical point in its development.
Back Bay is embroiled in a controversy with the state over access through the wildlife refuge to isolated False Cape State Park. And federal budget cuts threaten to bring a screeching halt to the refuge's expansion plan.
The access issue is a 25-year imbroglio that heated up last year when the refuge, for the first time, closed its interior dikes, or roads, to the public during the winter months to protect migrating waterfowl.
The dikes are the main access for walkers, hikers and bikers to reach the adjacent park. The only other way to reach the park is trekking 10 miles round-trip on the beach and boating on Back Bay. No vehicular traffic is allowed except by permit.
State park and federal refuge officials are in the midst of negotiations to resolve the conflict. Even though Stasko just reported to work in late July, he's attended meetings for the past two months.
``I feel real good about how these meetings are going,'' he said. ``Some creative ideas we're pursuing could provide solutions.''
Stasko said the most positive thing that's resulted from the negotiations is that the state has said it wants to preserve False Cape's unique ecosystem and is not interested in bringing in thousands of people per day.
``We have a different agenda than the state,'' Stasko said. ``Our customers are the critters. Their customers are two-legged.
``But we are interested in providing long-term access for park customers, and it needs to be dependable.''
Another problem he's inherited is the expansion plan.
Since 1990, the refuge has purchased half of the 6,340 acres of land, which surrounds the existing 4,600 acres, targeted for expansion with federal funds. The refuge has paid $10 million so far for the land.
But the source of most of the funds, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, is in jeopardy in Congress. Without those funds, the expansion program will virtually stop. Some money is available for land acquisition through the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, revenue from the sale of duck stamps and admission fees to refuges.
If lobbying efforts are not successful at changing lawmakers' minds, Stasko said there are other ways to protect the unpurchased land, including educating the landowners about how to minimize pollution and preserve delicate ecosystems.
While that's already happening to some extent, Stasko said, ``We'll probably have to do a better job than we do now.''
A native of Western Pennsylvania, Stasko, 44, his wife, and two sons, ages 15 and 10, have purchased a home in the Dam Neck area. It's their first home as they've always lived in refuge housing.
Stasko worked in the Fish and Wildlife Service's Job Corps program before becoming manager in 1986 of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md., the largest, most complex Fish and Wildlife Service facility. During his tenure there, he played a key role in designing and constructing the $15-million National Wildlife Visitor Center at Patuxent, a museum-like center with interactive computer exhibits and taxidermy panoramas.
In 1994, he was named the Visitor Center's first director.
Stasko left Maryland to escape the congested Washington, D.C., area and to get back to the grass roots of wildlife refuges.
``After spending 10 years pursuing a career in upper management, I discovered the real work of the service, the strength of the service, is at the field level,'' Stasko said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
John P. Stasko, the new manager of Back Bay National Wildlife
Refuge, says he is encouraged that the state wants to preserve False
Cape's unique ecosystem and is not interested in bringing in
thousands of people per day.
by CNB