A fun fact that many have just discovered this year is that the River ‘S’ Auto Tour of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge is open for walking visitation from May 1st to September 30th. Rules were a little confusing when the Auto Tour first opened in 2000, but were solidified in 2010 after the USFWS Comprehensive Conservation Planning process was completed, and the seasonality of the trails was established.
What does that even mean?
It means that during the summer, if you pull over and step out of your vehicle to get a clearer camera shot, park your vehicle and walk for a bit, or decide to walk the whole tour, you’re not breaking any rules or adding extra disturbance to wildlife.
The Auto Tour of Ridgefield NWR is closed to walking during the winter to protect all the migratory species that come to visit, or just pass through the refuge looking for a place to rest and have a meal. Because during migration birds use a lot of their energy to travel long distances every day and night, it is imperative that they have places they can orient themselves to, where they know they can be safe and undisturbed.
In the summertime though, migratory birds have all reached
their destinations, nesting has completed or is wrapping up, and as long as visitors stick to the road as their trail- the Auto Tour is an awesome place to get a little nearer to wildlife.
Rick DeTroye and his wife, Mary Cal, discovered the Auto Tour a few years ago, around 2017, and have made walking along the Auto Tour one of their annual summer traditions. So what draws them to do the walk?
Rick says that “the real fun of going out there is just being out there!” You never know what you will see or experience, and most of the time, people in cars are respectful and cautious. His favorite spots are the stretch between the entrance kiosk and the hunt gate (the end of the two-lane portion at the beginning of the tour), and then the stretch from the hunt gate to the bathrooms. Each of the areas along the Auto Tour have their own little climate changes and terrain differences, as well as different wildlife to see. So it isn’t all about birds.
Rick and his wife began birding in their backyard 13 years ago. In the winter of 2008, when the snow and ice piled up to 20 inches, Rick and his wife put out some bird feeders to help the local bird populations. By the next day, they had attracted a lone American Goldfinch.
The bright yellow bird against the white snow was exciting, but on the third day when they woke up to the entire feeder covered in goldfinches, they were hooked on birding. Wanting to learn more, Rick took classes through Audubon on birding to beef up his ID skills, and there a friend suggested he visit Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. To Rick, that was all he needed. He met Jared Strawderman, the Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards’ Stewardship & Community Engagement Coordinator, then Volunteer Coordinator, who told him all about trail stewards and volunteering with the Refuge. And the rest as we say, is history.
From there, Rick learned more about Ridgefield through volunteer trainings, and decided to give walking the Auto Tour a try. The couple began to notice the changes in the wetlands over the seasons as visited, and began to truly realize their value not only for wildlife, but also for people. They have witnessed otters playing and hunting, deer of all shapes and sizes, as well as a wide variety of birds, sometimes just on one trip.
So while birds led Rick and Mary Cal to Ridgefield, it is their love of the landscape, the variety of wildlife, and the experience that keeps them visiting year after year.
Coming from Montana, and living in NE Portland for 37 years, the lack of flat horizons in our area is noticeable to Rick and his wife, but they feel that they can capture a little of that spaciousness at Ridgefield. Rick points out that the wide open spaces also provide a flat surface for those who need it. Whether they are walking the Auto Tour in the summer, or cruising it in their VW van during the off-season, the pair have learned or seen something something new on almost every visit.
Here are a few routes Rick and Mary Cal recommend: If they
plan to walk the full 4 miles, they will park at the entrance kiosk and walk through the two lane stretch, past the first corner, all the way to the restrooms. Then they return to their car, move the car to the Kiwa Trail parking lot (if it isn’t full), and then they walk through the wooded section along the slough. Sometimes they walk all the way out to the corner on the far side of the trees, again returning to their vehicle, moving it, and repeating the process.
Some tips from Rick:
-Make sure not to park in front of gates or access roads- they are used by volunteers and work crews year-round.
-There are lots of pull-outs to pull over and park that do not block traffic, make use of those!
-A little-known place to park at the beginning of the Auto Tour is along the right edge of the stretch before the clock, if the official lot by the kiosk is full.
-Even just a quick walk from the entrance kiosk to the hunt gate can be jam-packed with interesting things to see, and is flat for people of all abilities.
-Stop and notice the changes in temperature and wind in each of the different sections.
-Just take the time to enjoy!
-Samantha Zeiner, Friends of Ridgefield NWR Administrator
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