May 2019 Newsletter

Cathlapotle Plankhouse Updates & Events

Lifeways & Landscapes Programs

Spring Opening - This Weekend, May 4th & 5th!

The Cathlapotle Plankhouse is ready to receive visitors. Please join us opening weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5th, for docent-led or self-guided tours in the House. The Carty Lake Trail is now open!!! This means you can walk to the port and back from the Refuge Carty Unit, or park and pay at the Port of Ridgefield and walk to the Cathlapotle Palnkhouse and back!

Cathlapotle Plankhouse Second Sunday Series

Join us for the first Second Sunday event of the Season, Sunday, May 12th, from noon to 4pm! This month's theme is Indigenous Resilience & Resurgence, and we hope you join us!

As always, there will be activities and docents available from 12-4pm, as well as a special Ethnobotony walk at 2:30pm.

Download this flyer to save the date for this fun and educational event!

(click flyer to view larger or download)

Remembering Dr. Kenneth Ames

The first time I heard the name Dr. Kenneth Ames was during my undergraduate coursework at WSUV. I enrolled in an ethnoarchaeology class, led by Dr. Cameron Smith. During a routine office consultation regarding my final project for the semester, we got on the subject of social organization. Noting my interest in how large communities organize themselves, Dr. Smith offered to connect me with his own advisor, and fellow PSU faculty member, Ken Ames. I declined, not seeing how my research interests in Mesoamerica overlapped or connected with Dr. Ames expertise in Pacific Northwest social organization. This decision was right for me at the time, but with 20/20 hindsight, I wish I had taken the opportunity to meet Dr. Ames sooner...Keep reading...

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.

Habitat Restoration Updates & Events

Spring All Over

While parts of the Refuge are closed for construction on the River ‘S’ Bridge and the Oak Restoration, we are focusing new recruitment efforts on other refuges in the complex, such as the 3^rd Saturday Work Parties at Steigerwald Lake NWR. Sign up to help the Stewards here.

Wednesday work parties will be limited due to the River 'S' Unit bridge construction, so stay tuned to our website and social media pages to find opportunities to volunteer at Ridgefield NWR on Saturdays. Wednesday work parties will resume in June.

Now you can sign up to volunteer on our website!
Check it out by clicking here!

General Habitat Questions? Contact Keith Rutz or contact us for more information.

Seeking Business Alliance Members

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!