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t i i r ng sh president to be made public by him during National F Week. Part of the Department of Interior conservation plan is t to have each of the agencies write, by December, their own conservation plan including balancing their duties with recreational fisheries. FWS will handle their conservation ' plan through the Sport Fishing and Boating Committee. Neither is available for review and probably will not be before the president's announcement. Budget 1996 The Fish & Wildlife Service is requested to develop a t budget that would reflect $2.1 million less expenditures. The service has targeted closure of certain fish cultural stations to provide for the decrease. The internal closure selection process has been subject to much discussion and criticism prior to and during the selections. The service is attempting to work with states in an effort to transfer ownership to state wildlife agencies. FWS has since , identified and received approval to close or dispose of 10 cultural stations (Appendix "B"). Because of the many political ramifications, however, FWS was ordered not to ' close any stations, although transfer to the states was still authorized. The $2.1 million was restored plus another $1.3 million to operate the subject stations. Facilities slated for closure will continue to be offered to the states through 1997 fiscal period. The only stations which might influence the Colorado River Basin would be Inks Dam and Mescalaro National Fish Hatcheries (NFH). The service is considering a number of different options in lieu of closure, including caretaker status, which would allow the stations to be handled with minimum finances, but allow production in future years if the need should arise. FWS will definitely work with the recreational fishing community and other stakeholders in fish culture before they take any action to close a particular station. During discussion on this issue, the comment was made that FWS (with a budget well over $500 million and $50 million of this in recreational fisheries), was required to cut $2 million anywhere in the service budget, and the decision was to take the entire cut out of recreational ' fisheries. The secretary of Interior and director FWS are now setting high priorities on National Fishing Week and National Wildlife Refuge Week. The secretary, high ranking members of the Department of Interior and the FWS now go fishing on every public opportunity. The CRFWC was pleased that caretaker status had been , included, particularly in the west, to save water rights,