Entry bubble Want a Great Show? Try a National Wildlife Refuge

By: Editor | October 14, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

family walking on path in FallOur guest blogger today is Martha Nudel, who works in the Division of Visitor Services and Communications for the National Wildlife Refuge System of the Department of the Interior.  

What’s the most natural place to marvel at autumn’s show?  A National Wildlife Refuge is hard to beat — and you can see for yourself during National Wildlife Refuge Week.  Celebrated October 11-17, National Wildlife Refuge Week offers events across the country, many of them for most of the month of October. 

Whether you prefer to admire the fall colors, thrill to a skyful of migratory birds, explore a mountain trail or learn about the cultural resources that are part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s conservation mission, you can find what you like at a National Wildlife Refuge.  National Wildlife Refuge Week celebrates the richness of the 550 units that make up America’s National Wildlife Refuge System.  And it’s a great chance to find a family event near where you live.

When President Theodore Roosevelt established tiny Pelican Island in Florida in 1903 as the first National Wildlife Refuge, his mission was clear: protect the island’s birds from poachers and plume hunters.  With that simple promise of wildlife protection, the National Wildlife Refuge System was born.  National Wildlife Refuge Week gives the nation so many chances to experience wildlife in their natural habitats and play a firsthand role in conservation by participating in special events and programs, or simply observing and enjoying the great outdoors at a local refuge.

National Wildlife Refuges are dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats. They also offer a wide range of wildlife-dependent recreation — from fishing, hunting and hiking, to wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education.  The Refuge System includes more than 2,500 miles of land and water trails.

A Sampling of National Wildlife Refuge Week Highlights:

Patuxent Research Refuge, Maryland
Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17:  For the first time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host the nation’s oldest and most prestigious wildlife art competition, the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, at the refuge.  The winning design will grace the 2010-2011 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, the cornerstone of one of the world’s most successful conservation program.  In addition to watching the contest judging, the public can explore walking trails on the refuge or take a guided tram tour.  All artwork entered in the 2009 Federal Duck Stamp Contest will be on display at the refuge’s National Wildlife Visitor Center through October 17. 

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
Saturday, October 17, Annual Fall Celebration: Enjoy family activities and free fried fish dinners. 

Southeast Louisiana Refuges
Saturday, October 17, Annual Wild Things Festival: Attend a festival showcasing eight National Wildlife Refuges. The festival features speakers, live animals, wildlife crafts, live entertainment, gardens and grounds tours. Children’s highlights include the Youth Wildlife Art Show, orienteering, decoy painting and nature crafts. Wild Things also features canoe and pontoon boat tours of Bayou Lacombe.

You can take advantage of all the great events going on during National Wildlife Refuge Week at a National Wildlife Refuge near you! 

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Entry bubble Have Summer Plans? Go Wild!

By: Editor | July 27, 2009 | Category: Travel

bird in waterOur guest blogger today is Martha Nudel of the Department of Interior's National  Wildlife Refuge System.  

Want to try something wild this summer? You don’t have to go far or spend a bundle.  National wildlife refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are teeming with out-of-the-ordinary seasonal events.   Here is a sampling: 

• As bird watching grows in popularity, new trails are popping up around the country, many on national wildlife refuges. The new Makoke Birding Trail in central Iowa is a collection of 22 separately mapped sites, none more than 40 minutes from downtown Des Moines. One of those 22 sites is Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, where tallgrass prairie restoration is bringing back habitat for more than 200 species of birds. A guide to the trail can be loaded: http://www.iowabirds.org/places/documents/Makoke_Trail.pdf.

• The new Sun and Sage Loop of the Great Washington State Birding Trail features more than 200 of the state’s 346 annually recorded bird species.  Among the 52 stops in southcentral Washington is # 29, Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge, with its 1,700 acres of seasonal wetlands and shrub-steppe.  Each fall, 30,000 waterfowl arrive at the Toppenish Refuge and stay for winter.  You may spot Pied-billed grebes, northern pintails, northern shovelers and perhaps even short-eared owls.  For a downloadable trail guide: http://wa.audubon.org/BirdingTrailMaps/TM_index.html.

• All summer long, track wolves at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Manteo, N.C., during the red wolf howling safari.   Cars caravan to the howling site on Wednesday nights, weather-permitting.  $5 to participate in the two-hour guided program.  Bring a flashlight and insect repellant.  For more information: www.redwolves.com or www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=41630 or 252-473-1131

• Learn how Native Americans made hunting tools from stone and bone August 9 at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, WA.  Enjoy demonstrations of historic Chinookan tool making, plant harvesting and weaving from natural materials, noon to 3:30 p.m. at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse. The plankhouse is open regularly on weekends from noon to 4 p.m. through October. For more information: www.plankhouse.org or 360-887-4106.

• Take your camera when you visit national wildlife refuges so you can become part of an online wildlife  photo mosaic.  Go to http://yououtdoors.org/ to get started.

This summer, go wild!!  For more information about national wildlife refuges, go to: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/.

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