Bridging the Gap: Friends, Community, and the Future of Our Refuges

These are extraordinary and challenging times. Cuts to federal budgets have taken lean and mean US Fish and Wildlife Service budgets and stripped them to the bone. Already hard-working federal Service workers now have even greater workloads. Cuts to federal budgets and staff directly impact the wildlife that depend upon wildlife refuges across the county and specifically the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Thank goodness for Friends groups and their support for refuges – nationally, regionally, and locally. The Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge (Friends) work with a consortium of national conservation organizations to advocate for Refuges nationwide. We have partnered with Tribes, conservation organizations, and other Friends groups to support refuges and their programs and habitats in the Portland/Vancouver metro areas, including Tualatin, Steigerwald, and the Columbia River Gorge refuges. By combining our resources and efforts we can help ensure that wildlife refuges continue to provide critical habitat and meet the needs of wildlife.

In Ridgefield, at the Carty unit of the Refuge, we are supporting completion of the new Community Nature Center (CNC) that will help introduce people to nature and build continued support for wildlife refuges and conservation. This partnership with the Service is an example of how the community, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Friends can come together and make a Vision a reality. The CNC will provide people of all ages with outdoor experiences in nature along with education about wildlife, the environment, and conservation. The Friends recently received a grant from the Keller Foundation for $100,000 to support construction of the outside Nature Exploration Area and buildout and equipping of classrooms inside and outside the CNC. This facility will provide inviting access and incredible experiences for the public and school groups that visit the Refuge.

More support is needed. The Friends are committed to making a difference and supporting the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and our system of refuges across all the Columbia River Gorge refuges. Your support is critical. Please use our website to discover how you can continue to provide that critical support through brick purchases, donations, membership contributions, or joining our board, and make a tangible difference.

-Jim Maul, Board President, Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge