Many refuges receive added support from local community members including volunteers and Friends groups.
Refuges across the nation support nesting, stopover, and wintering populations of waterfowl, such as this mixed flock of Cackling and Canada Geese. Almost all North American birds can be found within the National Wildlife Refuge System.
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A gem among our American public lands is the National Wildlife Refuge System, comprised of 567 refuges, with some located in every state. Our refuges are prized and supported by birders as some of the best areas in our country to enjoy birding and other outdoor recreational activities. Everyone has a favorite refuge, and many birders make it a point to support their local refuge by volunteering for an hour, a day, a season, or throughout the year. Special events, visitor services, fund raising, and a variety of improvements often depend on volunteers’ time and efforts.
Without question, our national wildlife refuges count among our most important birding areas, and their importance to the birds we seek and appreciate are in many cases paramount to their reproduction and survival. Some birders plan vacations that take them from refuge to refuge; others appreciate day trips to refuges for the exceptional birding opportunities they provide. Likewise, hours spent as a volunteer at a refuge are fulfilling and represent an important contribution to the refuge and refuge staff, who work for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Volunteers
If you have a little spare time, or have an special interest in a local refuge, volunteering at a refuge is fun and rewarding in many ways; you will learn new skills, see behind the scenes of refuge operations, meet new people, and make new friends. To learn more about volunteering opportunities at our national wildlife refuges, refer to https://www.fws.gov/volunteers/
Refuge Friends
For dedicated volunteers, Refuge Friends groups have formed to support some of the more popular refuges. In fact, there are 185 Friends organizations formed to support 280 refuges. Already, 40,000 Friends volunteers contribute in a variety of ways, and to find out how you can help locally, see https://www.fws.gov/refuges/friends/
Watchdogs Too
Another way of volunteering does not require physical activity, but other forms of support that take less time and effort, but are as important as any contributions we can make. It’s simply a matter of keeping informed about the refuge system and speaking out when our refuges are in need. Anyone interested in our refuges should look into teaming up with focused groups that provide ways to help, improve, promote, and protect our refuges across America and help inform the public about refuge matters. A standout in this regard is the National Wildlife Refuge Association, that is dedicated to our refuges across America; see https://www.refugeassociation.org/news
Protecting Refuges
On another level, volunteers, Friends groups, birders, conservation communities, and interested individuals occasionally must act to continue to protect specific refuges. Recent public concerns have been voiced to the highest offices about serious issues regarding the Desert Refuge in Nevada, Santa Ana Refuge in Texas, Okefenokee Refuge in Georgia, Cabeza Prieta Refuge in Arizona, and the Arctic Refuge in Alaska.
In this issue of The Birding Wire, we provide a Birding News update on a refuge case in point: The planned lease of the wilderness lands on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas developers as directed by some lawmakers in the current administration. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is not at fault, and Service staff cannot speak out on behalf of the refuges they manage and administer. Instead, we American citizens must raise our voices, and our pens, to share our concerns with lawmakers about how they are voting and administrating our public lands, especially our refuges.
Sign Petitions
A simple way you can help (volunteer) to support a given refuge, is by being aware of petitions to help protect our refuges, reading them, and if you agree with the concern described in a petition, add your signature to support it and the other people who have joined in that particular effort. Today, you can add your name to a National Wildlife Refuge Association petition regarding the Arctic Refuge at: https://refugeassociation.salsalabs.org/arcticrefugepetition/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444 and you can keep aware of future petitions to support individual American refuges at the Association site, as well as keep informed about refuge news.
Almost all refuges experience excellent management and provide high quality birding experiences. We collectively appreciate that birding includes protecting and conserving bird populations and the habitats they use and rely upon. Adopting a local refuge, volunteering there when possible, joining a Refuge Friends group, and voicing concern when a refuge is affected by Washington politics and big industry is all admirable. To all the refuge volunteers, Friends, watchdogs, and voters: Thank you for your service.
Article by Paul Konrad
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