Habitat work on the Refuge in February focused primarily on creating Columbia White-tail Deer habitat. We started with clearing blackberries and downed debris from under mature Ash trees, followed by grass seeding and shrub/tree planting. This year we used 6 species of native shrubs and trees to create cover and browse. There is also the additional benefit of providing pollinators a longer blooming season, and birds with flora that produce large quantities of berries. If you are interested in the species we use and which ones might be suitable for your yard or property I encourage you to come on out and volunteer and I’ll be happy to share. This would be my carrot since I’m not allowed a stick.
If you were driving the Auto Tour Route recently and saw a group of folks planting in a 
snowstorm that was the return of the Lewis River Rotary Club who for two years now have purchased and planted 40 Ash trees to help with expanding our riparian forest. We are grateful for their support and appreciate that they come back and help out with the maintenance and watering. If you are a member of a group or organization and would like to set up something similar for the next planting season let us know and we can schedule an event.
I also want to thank our regular volunteers for staying committed and concerned through the shutdown and for being ready to hit the ground running once the Refuge re-opened. These folks are the definition of rain or shine volunteers.
Lastly, you may have read in past posts about the Western Pond Turtle restoration project happening on the Pierce NWR in the Gorge. Between the shutdown and the weather, we have fallen behind our planting schedule so if anyone has ever wanted to visit that particular Gorge Refuge this would be a great opportunity. We will be out there on Saturdays and Mondays and running a shuttle from the Steigerwald Refuge that leaves around 8:30 am- This includes this Saturday, March 2nd! Please call Keith (360-607-2698) for details.
When Amazon removed AmazonSmile, we lost our Amazon Wishlist access. Now, we have finally started one back up! Shop for items that the Friends and the Refuge Complex need to help with everything from habitat restoration to events like BirdFest & Bluegrass, and help support wildlife in little and big ways.
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Sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge (PK822). For more information, please visit the link below.
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