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Welcome New Friends Executive Director: Alix Danielsen!
Alix's path to the Refuge and Friends is a diverse one. After spending several years in the wine business, Alix took a hiatus to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail, an experience that encouraged a career shift towards a more environmentally-minded career. Alix moved from San Francisco to the Willamette Valley to work with farmers on conservation and natural resource management, and eventually went to work with social marketing agencies on environmental and public health campaigns. Most recently, Alix worked for the Clackamas River Basin Council, managing outreach and engagement with landowners, partners, and diverse community members on water quality and habitat protection. Alix has had extensive non-profit and board experience, and is passionate about protecting our natural spaces, and connecting people to nature in meaningful, culturally-relevant ways. Alix looks forward to getting to know the many Friends members, volunteers, partners, and community supporters!
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Welcome New (and renewing) Board Members!
Debbie Raffelson:
 Debbie's family has been in Ridgefield for over 100 years. She cares about our community and our refuge and has been a board member since 2014. She is the chair of our Annual Membership and Volunteer Appreciation Dinner, and will be moving into the Treasurer position this coming year. Fun Fact: When she was younger, she wanted to be a rodeo clown or a nun.
Rick Browne:
 Rick has supported the Refuge for 15 years, beginning when he was Photo Editor of The Columbian, when he made sure we had at least one well-displayed picture from the Refuge each month. He then continued by initiating a photo contest in Ridgefield Living Magazine to further educate and encourage the public to visit, support, and appreciate the bounty we all find at the Refuge. Fun Fact: While being known for 20 years of barbecue cookbooks, TV shows, and public appearances, Rick placed 5th in the World Food Championships in the Dessert Category with his Blue-Barb English Shortbread Tart.
Kent Landerholm:
 Kent and his family currently live in the unincorporated area north of the town of Ridgefield, but also have a long family history dating back to the late 1800s in Clark County. The family owns and operates a small tree farm. He is also owner of Landerholm & Associates, Inc., a property management, land use planning and public policy management firm. He has served on many boards and has extensive fund-raising experience. Fun Fact: In the 1980’s he competed in various Highland Games throughout Scotland. He proudly wore a kilt!
Tanna Engdahl:
 Tanna is retired from a 30-year Federal career in HUD Indian Housing, BLM, NPS and Bureau of Indian Affairs agencies. Her program management background has carried into retirement with volunteer services in conservation, church and tribal activities. She states she is passionate about land, water, rivers, native plants and habitat as well as clean water, clean air and habitat restoration. Fun Fact: When Tanna was a reporter, she politely disengaged from visiting with a very nice lady in the Ladies Room to hurry back to the newsroom. She happened to glance at the monitor and recognized the lady, being interviewed live on air. It was Ginger Rogers.
Alex Earl:
 Alex and his family are new residents of Ridgefield. Alex has worked for more than a decade in the environmental nonprofit sector as an Executive Director, Development Director, and Volunteer Board Member on a global scale. He is experienced in leading and implementing successful initiatives to raise funds and increase participation in organizations devoted to enhancing and protecting the natural world. He wants to bring that experience and passion for the environment closer to home by serving on our Friends RNWR Board. Fun Fact: Alex went to the only international public school in North America with students from the US and Canada.
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If you live in Downtown Ridgefield....
Give us your PO Box!
 If you are a member, donor or sponsor with us and live in downtown Ridgefield, on Main and Pioneer up to 9th, including all the numbered streets to 9th and all the named streets to the north edge of town, please make sure we have your PO Box address instead of your physical house address. This helps us get things to you like renewal reminders and invitations, and helps out the post office that can't deliver to that area.
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Upcoming Events to Save the Date for:
Keep an eye out for more information on these events coming 2018!
 Cathlapotle Plankhouse Season Opening: Saturday May 5th, 2018, 12-4pm 28908 NW Main Ave Ridgefield, WA 98642
 Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Annual Fundraiser 2018:
Friday, July 20th, 2018 - Evening, Lucy's Garden - 3302 NW Carty Rd, Ridgefield, WA 98642
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From the Contact Station
Red-tailed Hawk Variation
As I have said in the past, I love winter on the River ‘S’. Often, I can see multiple Red-tailed Hawks without setting foot outside the contact station. There are several that perch and hunt within view...
Typical Red-tailed Hawk characteristics are fairly easy: belly band, red tail, dark head and the dark patagial mark on the forward edge of the wing. But, and that is a big but, that is not always what you see and the variation in those characteristics can make you wonder at your identification. Keep Reading...
-Susan Setterberg, Volunteer & Board Member, Photos by Virginia Scott
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Environmental & Cultural Education Program
Teacher Trainings for 2018 have begun…
Photos: Saturday - January 27, 2018
Our education team kicked off our newly revised Teacher Trainings the past weekend. Our focus this year is on building collaborative partnerships with our formal educators. Their feedback is invaluable in developing education activities that are fun for students and help educators meet teaching standards, such as Since Time Immemorial curriculum and the Next Generation Science Standards. A total of eight educators participated, representing a combined five schools and three school districts.
 A highlight from Saturday? The pigment based paint activity where we substitute chicken yolks for salmon roe and made charcoal based paint. Prior to paint making we reviewed the salmon life cycle, helping teachers see how they can connect science, nature, and culture in an all-in-one classroom activity.
Sessions still open and Clock Hours available!
This training will be good for three years. Sessions are held from 10am to 2:30pm on the following dates: February 24th and March 24th. Sign up by emailing ridgefieldeducation@fws.gov. Limited space will be available each day so attending sooner rather than later is suggested. *For on-site Refuge field trips, one teacher each field trip day must have attended one of the orientation days.
2018 School Field Trips
Offered May and June, Tuesdays-Fridays.
Registration for on-site Refuge field trips opens this week!
Applications being accepted ONLINE ONLY February 1st through March 15th.
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Ridgefield Refuge Complex
News & Events
Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
World Wetlands Day at the Oregon Zoo
Join Ridgefield Friends, Ridgefield Refuge Staff and Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards volunteers as we celebrate World Wetlands Day at the Oregon Zoo! Saturday, February 3rd, visit the Zoo's Education Center to see booths from us and other great partners, listen to talks, watch presentations, crocodile feeding, beaver keeper talk and more! Check out the schedule and pre-pay for zoo entrance HERE!
Wild in the City Open House March 3rd!
(click to view larger)
Join us at Three Creeks Library in Vancouver on March 3rd from 11am to 4pm! This free event is focused on bringing the Refuge to the city! Come find out what projects we are working on, how to get involved, and how to support nature and education in your every day lives. And free popcorn!
Thank you for visiting the refuge and supporting conservation. If you have any questions regarding activities and regulations on the refuge, call the office Monday through Friday 7:30am to 3:30 pm at 360-887-4106.
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Cathlapotle Plankhouse
Update & Events
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Archaeology Roadshow
 Photo: Juliet McGraw and Eugene Carrol (Cathlapotle Plankhouse Director and longtime education volunteer).
Each summer the Friends host a booth at the PSU Archaeology Road Show in downtown Portland. It is a truly fun event and a great way to break up the heat of July. This year offered us an additional adventure!
Through support from USFWS Cultural Resources, we were able to take the Cathlapotle Plankhouse on tour. Trade was a perfect theme for 2017 as this was the first time Friends’ Plankhouse Programs were shared on the east side of the Cascades. Our booth featured clamons (elk hide armor) and wapato, truly unique Cathlapotle contributions to the intricate Chinookan trade network along the Lower Columbia River.
 
We hope you enjoy the following short video that showcases the excitement of both the Harney County and PSU Campus locations of the 2017 Archaeology Road Show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hnw_sY8Z7A
Questions? Contact Juliet at Juliet_McGraw@fws.gov
or call (360) 887-4106
(click link to view the Plankhouse listing)
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.
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Habitat Restoration
Updates & Events
January Updates and Upcoming Volunteering Opportunities
 January on the Refuge felt more like March with 50 degree days and continuous rain. We can’t be sure how most of the resident flora and fauna felt about it, but the deer appear plump and content with an easy winter season. Geese are also benefiting from the mild conditions and continued growth of grass. They are fortunate this year since much of their off-site grazing habitat surrounding the Refuge is quickly being converted to suburbia. Keep Reading...
Now you can sign up to volunteer easily on our website! Check it out by clicking here!
Check out more about Habitat Restoration here!
Questions? Contact Keith_Rutz@fws.gov for more information
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Partner Events to Save the Date for:
Tualatin River Bird Festival: May 19th, 2018
 The Friends of the Refuge, in conjunction with Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, welcome you to our 22nd Annual Tualatin River Bird Festival. This is a FREE family-friendly event! Join thee Friends of the Refuge for diverse family-friendly activities celebrating wildlife and wild places.
Check out the Friends of the Refuge's webpage here to stay up to date on this event, and what all is going on in Tualatin!
Big Paddle: June 2nd, 2018
There’s something for absolutely everyone on this fun-filled day  downtown and on Lake River. Breakfast, paddling, obstacle course, live music, beer & wine garden, BIG games and a Totally Awesome Scavenger Challenge! Registration is already open! Check out the schedule HERE, and sign up today!
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Help the Friends and the Refuge When You Shop
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 go to www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards. You can search for us by our name, Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, or by our non-profit number, 89824. Then, every time you shop and use your Rewards Card, you are helping the Friends earn a donation to support the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. If you do not have a Rewards Card, they are available at the Customer Service desk of any Fred Meyer store.
Shop and Give Online at AmazonSmile.com
 Log on to smile.amazon.com, shop as you usually would and .5% of your purchase will be donated directly to the Friends. Use the special link, smile.amazon.com, with your existing user name and password.
To set up your AmazonSmile account, click this link: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-2018749. When prompted to select a charity, choose the Friends of Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. Begin shopping as you normally would and the Friends will receive 0.5% of eligible purchases.
Or Shop Online and Give through Giving Assistant
 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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Follow the Friends on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
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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Header Photo Credit: Marguerite Hills
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