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The Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
The latest updates | August, 2021
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From the Friends
Reflections on History, Conservation
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I was grateful this month to have some time to read and reflect on the history of conservation. In particular, I was struck by this quote from Beloved Beasts by Michelle Nijhuis, a collection of essays about important figures in conservation history: “It’s easy to forget that the world we live in is far richer thanks to those who found convincing reasons, and the required means, to provide sanctuary to other species.”
Also this month, I had the opportunity to speak with a local community group about the Friends and the Refuge. My talk included a brief history of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which began in 1903 when President Theodore Roosevelt decided to protect pelicans in Florida.
Thinking about how the Refuge system has grown since then, I’m struck by how fortunate we are that people before us, imperfect as they were, thought to set aside spaces for the benefit of other species. I hope that we will have that same foresight in the midst of the current challenges facing us and the spaces we love, and leave a legacy that future generations can be proud of.
-Anna Wilde, Interim Executive Director
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From the Refuge
Good News On and Off of the Refuge
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As I sat thinking about what news to bring to you this month, I was sent an inspiring article about one of our current partners. This month I am going to be quiet with my own voice and let our community show you the great opportunities we have in making refuges and conservation accessible to all. Please enjoy this article about Mauricio Valadrian and how he is working to improve health, education, and environmental stewardship in the Portland metro area. This is work that we have the honor of assisting him with through our partnership with Valadrian Creative. Currently, that work is most visible through Birdfest & Bluegrass, Second Sunday virtual offerings, and the Daycation App. However, the learning and planning for future engagement and accessibility has been a beautiful journey that we are very excited to continue.
Also, please enjoy the Kiwa trail from July 31st through September 30th! I hope that you walk it with pride knowing that the habitat you support successfully raised a state endangered species on its way to recovery. Your sacrifice was for the ultimate goal here, to protect, conserve and restore that which gives us all (animals of all forms) what we need for the best quality of life. Happy August!
-Josie Finley, Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Services Manager
-Image by Randy Hill - the Crane Family after moving
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Ridgefield Refuge Complex News & Events
Gate Times for Both Units: 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM
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SEASONAL TRAIL UPDATES:
The Kiwa Trail opens July 31st! The Sandhill Crane colt has fledged and the family has moved away from their nest. Look for them along the curves after the Kiwa Trail on the tour.
Until September 30th, walk this trail stop along the River 'S' Unit Auto Tour Route!
If the Kiwa parking lot is full, please do another loop and try again instead of parking along the sides of the road.
Don't forget that the Oaks-to-Wetlands Trail, within the Oak Restoration area, is closed Thursdays for trail maintenance.
NOTE: The Washington State Discover Pass is not valid on Federally managed public lands, including National Wildlife Refuges.
Check the Refuge2020.info website for project updates, like the Steigerwald Lake reconnection project, Carty Unit Oaks-to-Wetlands Trail developments, and more!
To feel more connected to nature and the Refuge while staying home, stay tuned to the Friends Social Media streams on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - we are working to share activities, videos of nature on and off the Refuge, and more. Social links can be found at the bottom of this newsletter.
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2021 Refuge Photo Contest |
CATEGORIES:
- BIRDS
- WILDLIFE
- PLANT LIFE
- LANDSCAPE & STRUCTURES
ADULT CATEGORY PRIZES:
1st Place in each category: $150 Pro Photo Supply Gift Card
YOUTH PRIZES:
1st Place: $75 Gift Card
2nd Place: $50 Gift Card
3rd Place: $25 Gift Card
*Gift Cards from Pro Photo Supply*
If you know anyone who would be interested or able to enter this contest (photos taken at Ridgefield only) share it with them, or have them sign up for our newsletter on our website, to get the info themselves!
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BirdFest & Bluegrass 2021 |
In 2021 we plan to do this event mostly virtually again, with some in-person in-town events, including vendors and music in Downtown Ridgefield, and a self-guided Refuge hike. Stay tuned for updates, schedules, and more!
If you want, you can still view the videos from our 2020 event from Saturday, October 3rd, 2020 on our Facebook and Youtube channels. You don’t have to have a Facebook account in order to view any of the great content, now or in the future.
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BirdFest & Bluegrass 2021 Commemorative Buttons
Find the 2020 BirdFest & Bluegrass commemorative buttons featuring the Bird of the Year, the American Crow at local Vancouver and Ridgefield Businesses, coming soon!
Scroll to the bottom of our BirdFest page for details and facts about Crows, videos, links, and more!
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From the Contact Station
Swallowing and Swallows
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To start, we have a July observation of an American Kestrel around #13. You may recall a banded Kestrel discussed here a couple months ago. This is a different, unbanded female. About a week after the grasses were cut for hay on Swartz Field, we spotted this Kestrel with a nice tidbit (sorry for the ick factor). That seems like an awfully big lunch. We can only hope it was going to go back to a nest to share...Keep Reading...
-Susan Setterberg, Contact Station Volunteer
- Photo of American Kestral, Susan Setterberg
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Cathlapotle Plankhouse Updates & Events
Virtual Second Sunday Series, August 8th, 2021
Traditional Technologies Day
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11 AM: Join the Friends and Staff of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Sunday, August 8th, at 11 AM virtually for a robust day of programming. Traditional Technologies Day customarily features a variety of activities all over the landscape, however, this year we are offering multiple skills to view including indigenous archery and bowmaking, native games, and ancestral fire starting.
10 AM: Start the day with us at 10 AM for family activity demos with the Brunos, and Trail Tips with the Fish & Wildlife Service! Family activity bags will be available to pick up ahead of time, starting Saturday, July 31st and throughout the week, at Seasons Coffee in the Old Liberty Theater, while supplies last! They will also be available at the Clark County Historical Museum booth in the First Saturday Marketplace on August 7th!
Seasons Coffee Shop at the Old Liberty Theater is located in Historic Downtown Ridgefield. Stop by to get your activity bags, and pick up a coffee, or pastries and gifts! Gifts for sale inside the coffee shop are all local artists and authors, shop and support within our area!
Family activity kits for August will include what you need for some Cornhusk games! Make your own cornhusk game piece: Across Indian country, cornhusks were used for all types of children’s toys and community games. By using this paper bag to mimic a cornhusk, you too can create your own gaming piece. Help us continue to celebrate Pacific Northwest First Foods and receive everything you need for this month’s craft inside of a SkakhwƏl/SamƏn color-it-yourself canvas bag.
EVENT: Sunday, August 8th, 2021, @ 10 & 11 AM, online!
Second Sundays in 2021 will be virtual and can be viewed on and after the event dates on the Friends Facebook and Youtube Channels.
ałqui,
-Juliet McGraw, Friends of RNWR Community & Cultural Education Director
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Preserve America is a national initiative in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the U.S. Departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities; and the President's Council on Environmental Quality. RNWR Page here.
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Habitat Restoration Updates & Events
July 2021 Habitat Recap
As expected, it has been a very busy month for our Habitat Restoration Program. With unusually high outdoor temperatures both last month and this month, paired with virtually zero precipitation - it has been a focus of our habitat team to water young native plantings in the hopes that we will revive those plants that have been under stress. At the beginning of this month, we shut down the auto tour route for the aerial spraying of Ricefield Bulrush and Reed Canary Grass infested wetlands. These wetlands will be mowed and disced with a tractor (to break up the underlying root structures) after the targeted invasives are deemed dead. Our volunteer work parties have shifted focus from bulrush searches to planting maintenance around the auto tour route, out at Bachelor Island, the Kiwa Trail, and up at Pierce NWR. Brushblading for blackberry control up in the Gorge has been put on hold for the moment due to the excessive heat and strong winds that frequent the area, keeping in mind the potential for fire danger. Wetland and general invasive species surveys are continuing through utilization of ArcGIS Collector and Survey 123.
-Emily Lane, Friends of RNWR Habitat Restoration Technician
Photo caption: Habitat volunteers working
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Check out what species are being seen on the Refuge here.
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Ridgefield First Saturdays -
August 7, 2021
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Enjoy a picnic and First Saturday activities at Overlook Park and learn about the ways that the City works. Then, take a trip down to the waterfront to watch the Paddle for Life Dragon Boat races.
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Species Spotlight
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
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A sneaky summer and fall visitor you can search the sloughs for at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge is the Green Heron.
Green Herons are actually a common and widespread species, but they can be so hard to see at first that many would consider them rare. Larger herons tend to stand prominently in open parts of wetlands, but Green Herons tend to be at the edges, in shallow water, or concealed in vegetation. They crouch low so they can wait to surprise fish with a snatch of their blade-like bill. From a distance, the Green Heron is a dark, small (about the size of an American Crow) and stocky bird hunched on slender yellow legs, often hidden behind a tangle of leaves. Seen up close...Keep Reading...
-Samantha Zeiner, Friends of RNWR Administrative Coordinator
-Photo by Chuck ah Choy, 2020 Refuge Photo Contest winner
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Friends Photo Contest Merchandise |
Check out our store items, with more being added all the time! We have mugs that change colors, tote bags, sweatshirts, and more, all featuring our 2019 and 2020 Refuge Photo Contest winning photos. Get your friends and family (or yourself!) a gift that will remind them of nature's beauty and support a wonderful cause!
If there isn't something you like, you can always donate, or buy a membership to the Friends in someone's name - an annual gift program that supports wildlife, habitat, volunteers, education, and more.
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Become a Business Alliance Member!
As a member of the Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Business Alliance, you invest in one of our urban metropolitan area’s most unique and diverse natural and cultural resources. Click here to find out more
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Board Seeking New Members
Or, Join a Committee
The Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge is a non-profit dedicated to promoting educational and cultural programs of the Ridgefield NWR, and protecting and enhancing its wildlife habitat. We are currently seeking candidates to serve on our board of directors. We are recruiting candidates with diverse backgrounds and skills for several open board positions, in addition to candidates interested in serving on a committee (board membership not required).
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Join the Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Board for their monthly meeting. Meetings start at 5pm every second Monday of the month and will be on Zoom until further notice, contact us to join in!
August 9th, September 13th, October 18th (moved for Indigenous Peoples Day), November 8th, December 13th
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When you link your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to the Friends, you help us earn donations from Fred Meyer Community Rewards. It doesn't change your regular personal shopping and fuel rewards, but it does make a meaningful contribution to our work on the Refuge. It's easy to sign up. Just click here. You can search for us by our name, Friends of Ridgefield NWR, or by our non-profit number, PK822. Then, every time you shop and use your Rewards Card, you are helping earn a donation to support the Friends and Ridgefield NWR. If you do not have a Rewards Card, ask at the Customer Service desk of any FM store.
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Log on to smile.amazon.com and shop as you usually would - .5% of your purchase will be donated directly to the Friends! Use the link with your existing user name and password. When prompted to select a charity, choose the Friends of Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. |
Giving Assistant makes it easy to donate to Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge! Simply shop online, earn cash back, and donate as much as 30% of your purchase price - Giving Assistant facilitates the whole process. Now, you can help change the world for free while saving money at over 3,000 popular online retailers like Home Depot, ULTA, and Macy’s! Start HERE! Thanks for being an EcoShopper and helping the Refuge!
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Would you like to enjoy a cup of coffee from Ridgefield's Seasons Coffee after a morning hike on the Refuge? Lunch at Vinnie's Pizza in-between the River 'S' and Carty Units? Dinner and drinks at the Historic Sportsman's Restaurant and Lounge after a busy day of wildlife viewing (5% off a meal with member card!)? Or maybe you would like to get a discount on some supplies at Shovel & Thumb or Backyard Bird Shop? How about a night out at Ilani?
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The Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge promote the enjoyment, understanding, and protection of native and endangered birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. We focus on our local community and the Pacific Northwest. |
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Business Alliance Members: |
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Granting Organizations & Partners: |
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Header Photo Credit: Raul Moreno, 2017, 2nd Place, Refuge Photo Contest |
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Want regular updates on Refuge events and happenings? Follow the Friends on your favorite social media by clicking the logos below to stay connected even when you are off the Refuge.
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