The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public feedback on a proposal for a new national wildlife refuge that would span across southeast Wisconsin and northeastern McHenry County.

For the past two years, agency experts have been studying the possibility of linking at least 11,000 acres in Illinois and Wisconsin into the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge.

Wildlife service biologists developed a preliminary proposal to establish the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge in January 2010. Later that fall, the project’s planning staff began raising awareness and launched a greater effort to reach out to the public.