Making Tracks

The Newsletter of the Friends of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Joyfully Connecting our Community with the Wonder of the Refuge

WATCH FOR YOUR EMAIL INVITATION TO THE FRIENDS' VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING. You will be asked to RSVP to receive the Zoom link. We hope you enjoy this edition of Making Tracks. We will be happy to hear your feedback and what you'd like to see in the newsletter going forward.

Friends are a proud sponsor of the Wapato Showdown in Gaston, Oregon.

Stop by and say "Hi" to fellow Friends' members and Refuge Staff at our booth at the Wapato Showdown on Aug 28th.We will host an informational booth with the Refuge about Wapato Lake NWR. Be one of the first people to purchase a Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge baseball cap. The Friends plan to have membership, donation and volunteer information available. Other merchandise from our Nature's Overlook Store will also be available for purchase.

The Showdown is adjacent to the soon to be open Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monthly Board Meeting

Aug 24, 2021 6:30 PM ZOOM

Wapato Showdown, Gaston, OR

Aug 28, 2021 8:00AM- 4:00 PM

2021 Friends' Annual Membership Meeting

Sept 25, 2021 9:30 AM ZOOM

NO September Board Meeting

Refuge Project Leader spends time at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in July

Greetings Friends!

Midway Memories

Larry Klimek, Project Leader

I was fortunate to spend the month of July on a detail to Midway Atoll NWR. Yes, it is the “Midway Island” made famous during World War II and the subsequent movies. Technically speaking there is no Midway Island. The Refuge is comprised of Sand and Eastern islands, which are 1200 and 700 acres respectively, the surrounding atoll and the surrounding waters. The Refuge is approximately midway between North America and Asia. Sand Island is where everyone lives and where all the facilities are. abandoned runways and a few defense structures are all that are left on Eastern Island.

The geographical location is the main factor in the area’s human and natural resource history. Polynesian sailors were the first to visit the area as they were exploring the Pacific Ocean. The first permanent settlement on the island was in 1903 when employees associated with the underwater trans-pacific communications cable moved to the island. This was followed by different uses: Pan Am clipper boats (30s), World War II (40s), the Cold War (60s &70s) and the Refuge. Each of these uses

brought additional people and facilities to the islands and were tied together by the presence of the US Navy. The peak was while the area was a naval base and approximately 5,000 people lived on the island. The navy base was decommissioned and the area was transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to

be managed as a national wildlife refuge. On average 40-45 people live on the island which includes Refuge staff and contractors. The majority, are contractors who maintain the island’s infrastructure and the active emergency runway. (CONTINUES BELOW)

Learn about what the Refuge and the Friends are working on

Watch the LIVE recording from the 2021 Tualatin River Bird Festival. An introductory video provides a historic overview of the lakebed and the restoration efforts made as we prepare to open the Refuge to the public. This is followed by a live program with Refuge Project Leader, Larry Klimek and others providing the most updated information on this project.

News From the Board

Irene Vlach, Secretary

The organization’s fiscal year ends on September 30, and the board, under the leadership of the treasurer, is busy drafting a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 21/22. The committee chairs have already submitted the budgets for their respective committees, and at the August meeting the full board will vote to approve the budget.

For a non-profit, the size of the budget is limited by the amount of the funds that can realistically be raised towards meeting the budget. For a Q&A on the budgeting issues for the Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, SCROLL BELOW TO READ AN INTERVIEW WITH TREASURER WILLEM STOELLER.

Upcoming Opportunities

We have two invasive plant removal opportunities coming up in September!

Contact Carly to Volunteer

September 25^th –

Invasive Plant Removal – 9:00am – 12:00

Come out to the Refuge and help us give our native plant and wildflower species a fighting chance to grow up big and strong!

Help us take out the trash at beautiful Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge!

*All volunteers will need to read and agree to our COVID – 19 Job Hazard Analysis and review their volunteer forms to participate.

Online sales from our Nature's Overlook store support the work of the Friends.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO BACKYARD BIRD SHOP

In celebration of their 30th year of being in business, the Backyard Bird Shop donated a portion of their sales during the month of June. Their donation of $500 is such a meaningful gesture during these difficult times. We thank Backyard Bird Shop for their donation and for always being a supportive partner of the Friends and the Refuge.

Photos From the Refuge by Carly Hirschman

Midway Memories Continue

The “magic” of Midway is the incredible seabird and aquatic resources. For the same reasons humans have been drawn to the area so has the wildlife.

The number of seabirds are incredible and are hard to describe and imagine without seeing it. The islands are a seabird magnet. Imagine an area twice the size as the main unit at Tualatin River NWR and it contained 500,000 Laysan Albatross nests on it. Almost every square foot of open ground that is not covered with a building, road or runway has a nest on it. Each pair raises one chick and are continually going out to sea to forage for food. The other dominant bird on the islands is the bonin petrels, which nest in ground burrows. Their numbers have recently increased dramatically and number in the half a million range. They had not returned to the island during my stay but there presence is seen everywhere in the excavated burrows which make it difficult to walk off the roads and trails. Some of the other birds nesting and using the islands in significant numbers include black albatross, white terns, frigate birds, red-footed boobies, sooty terns and black and brown noddys.

The marine resources that were seen fairly regularly included green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals who haul up on the beaches to bask and avoid predators. In addition, a large variety of fish species congregated around the piers and underwater structures in the crystal clear water. Most of the substrate around the islands is sand as the Refuge is just far enough north that not a lot of coral formations exist.

While this was an incredible opportunity and one that I will remember for a long time, it also got me thinking about our Refuge’s here. Many people have asked me about my trip to Midway and are excited to hear about this magical place. What if we could generate that same type of excitement and enthusiasm for Tualatin River and Wapato Lake NWRs. Just because they are in our backyard does not make them any less special and magical. One of the reasons for the urban program is that our refuges can be just as foreign and unknown to many people in urban areas as Midway is to others. It should be our mission and goal to get people excited, especially those who are not familiar with or, who have not been fortunate enough to experience our refuges and other natural areas. It is our responsibility to introduce them to these special places and all the magic and wonders they have to offer.

Larry Klimek

AN INTERVIEW WITH TREASURER WILLEM STOELLER

Q: What is the difference between restricted and unrestricted funds?

Restricted funds are funds received in the form of a grant or donation where the donor or grantor has specified how the money must be used. By law we can only use the restricted money as specified by the donor/grantor, we cannot use the money in any other way. An example of restricted funds is the $100,00 grant we received in 2019 from Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, specifically for a bridge over Chicken Creek.

Unrestricted funds are all the other funds that the organization receives. Part of the unrestricted funds can be designated by the board for a particular purpose. The board can change the designation through a simple majority vote. Currently the board has designated $39,376 as reserves (rainy day fund).

Q: How is the financial health of the organization?

Our Net Assets (what we have minus what we owe) are $137,119 as of June 30. These can be further broken down:

· Operating reserves $39, 376

· Store inventory $33,804

· Fixed assets $1,096 – furniture, computers, etc.

· Disposable Unrestricted Funds $62,843

From the above number we can conclude that currently the organization is financially healthy, despite the pandemic. Two forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans as well as a grant from Washington County allowed us to stay afloat.

We also have $349,997 in Restricted Funds which are for specific programs and cannot be used for our operational expenses.

Q: What are the most important programs/expenses?

Our most important programs are Advocacy, Bird Festival, Refuge Assist (direct help for Refuge projects from our unrestricted funds), Education and Restoration. Advocacy and Refuge Assist expenses are paid out of our Unrestricted Funds, the expenses for the other programs are paid out of Restricted Funds.

Q: What is our major source of income?

Our major sources of Restricted Income are grants from government and large corporations. Our major sources of Unrestricted Income are Individual unrestricted donations, membership fees and net sales from the nature store.

Q: What major changes do you expect in the coming fiscal year?

We expect all three sources of Unrestricted Income, i.e. store revenue, membership fees and donations, to be reduced by a total of approximately $6,000 due to the pandemic.

Our goal is to cover our operational expenses (currently about $55,000) each FY by the unrestricted income of the same FY. We expect to fall short by 19,000 in the coming fiscal year. We currently do have a reserve that will allow us to make up for the shortfall, but rebuilding the reserve will be our biggest challenge for the coming years.

Q: How can we make up for the uncertainties with respect to income from the store?

One option would be to increase our other two sources of Unrestricted Income through fundraising and membership campaigns. The other option is to increase store sales by selling higher dollar value items and selling more online.

Q: What percentage of our Unrestricted Income do we get from membership fees?

Membership fees provide 29% of our unrestricted funds. Individual donations amount to 37%, as do store sales.

Conclusion:

With the pandemic a number of our financial resources have decreased. We cannot expect another PPP loan to help cover our operating expense. We therefore will have to rely on the generosity of our members: if you are able to do so, please increase the level of your membership when you are up for renewal, or plan on making a financial donation (tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the law). Together we can do it!

Friends of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge Complex

19255 SW Pacific Hwy Sherwood, Oregon 97140

503.625.5944 x 15227

www.FriendsofTualatinRefuge.org