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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
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The parking lot at Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge will expand to add additional parking spaces and sidewalk access to trails. The expansion is currently delayed because of the weather but is expected to continue for approximately six months. This project will add about 50 new parking spaces. Access to trails and the Visitor Center is not expected to be impacted, though portions of the parking lot may be temporarily closed.
Please click the link provided to read about all of the details. If you have any additional questions please contact the Refuge office directly at (503) 625-5944.
Link to the news release: https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2022-11/tualatin-river-national-wildlife-refuge-will-improve-parking-lot-sidewalk
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President's Perch
by Cheryl Hart, President
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How time flies! Happy 2023 to all of you. We hope that you all have a successful year filled with joy and good times with family and friends and a sense of satisfaction in all that you do.
It is probably redundant to say but Friends have a very busy year ahead of us. First, 2023 is our 30th anniversary as a formal organization. We have so much to thank our founding board members for: their foresight in preserving land for a National Wildlife Refuge, their hard work with Congressman Wu to form the refuge and receive funding to build the Visitor Center and Administration building, and getting the refuge open to visitors. Thank you to our founders!
We will be celebrating our 30th in a variety of ways this year. We will keep you informed as opportunities to join in that celebration occur.
One of the other big projects for this year will be a welcoming event at Wapato Lake NWR in March. WLNWR just opened to the public last fall. The FWS staff as well as Friends and other community partners are making plans for how we will serve this refuge and continue to build public awareness of the refuge and our activities there.
Another exciting event we are currently working on is a Youth Climate Summit. A dynamic group of high school students are spearheading this event. That group is in the process of reaching out to high schools in our area to attract students to the event. They are lining up speakers, partner organizations and interactive opportunities that will help participants deepen their knowledge about and concern for conservation. If you know of high school or middle school students who might be interested in attending, watch for registration information on our Facebook page, website and in this newsletter.
Yesterday, we started judging the entries in the Oregon Chinese Coalition Youth Art Contest. This year’s theme is “Picture Yourself in Nature.” I had the honor of being one of the judges for this event and was blown away by the talent and creativity of nearly 60 entrants. Winning drawings will again be featured on the gallery wall in the Visitor Center.
I’d like to close with the observation that Friends and Refuge Staff are slowly restarting some of the activities that we had to discontinue during the height of the pandemic. I happened to be at a meeting in the EE Classroom when a group of Puddle Stompers—one of our most popular events that allows preschoolers to learn about the refuge and nature through fun activities led by volunteers—came in from a walk where there were plenty of puddles to stomp. Their joy and enthusiasm were energizing.
You just never know what might be happening on the refuge so come and see!
See you on the refuge!
-Cheryl Hart
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Focus on Friends
by Bonnie Anderson, ED
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It is with bittersweet emotions that I announce that our fabulous Friends Habitat Restoration Specialist, Carly Hirschmann has accepted a position with the Xerces Society in Portland. We are so excited for her as she starts this next chapter of her life and take comfort in knowing that she will be reporting to another fabulous past Friends employee, Rachel Dunham.
Carly started her journey at Tualatin River NWR as an amazing Friends' member and store volunteer. She was also a trail rover and helped with special events. This dedication resulted in a recommendation to be brought on for seasonal work for the Friends with Visitor Services- where once again, Carly shined.
|  | When the position of Habitat Restoration Specialist was open, Carly was a natural fit, For the past four years Carly has grown the 2nd Saturday work parties through her outreach and connection to volunteers. She is dedicated to the improvement of Public Lands and empowering people to discoverer how they can contribute to conservation in their area, She also was able to do some very interesting projects while with the Friends - including snorkeling for mussels and searching for the Silverspot butterfly on Saddle Mountain. |  |  | The list of programs and projects that Carly has been a part of is too long to list- but her accomplishments and contributions have been substantial. Carly will be greatly missed, as she embodied why the work of the Friends is so important for the Refuge and our community. But we know she will continue to support conservation and volunteerism in her new role. Thank you Carly for all of your hard work. An announcement to fill the position will be coming in the next few weeks. | |
Hope to see you out on the trails!
-Bonnie Anderson
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Nature’s Overlook, the Friends’ retail store in the Visitor Center, is seeking a volunteer to be the merchandise Buyer. George Burnett has been doing the buying for the store for over ten years, but is “retiring” from that role. She will provide training and share the knowledge she has learned over the years while finding wonderful products to sell in the store.
The Buyer position can be filled by one person or shared by two or even three people. One way of splitting the position would be for one person to research new products, get approval to carry them in the store, and order them, and a second person to receive the order, do the pricing and tagging, and display the items in the store. We are flexible and open to suggestions! George estimates that she spends 20 hours per month at the busiest times (such as before the holidays) but less than that during most months.
Intrigued by being able to help select the products sold in the store and display them in a way that entices customers to purchase them? The Buyer job may be perfect for you! If you would like more information and a copy of the position description, contact Sharon Miller, the Store Manager, at 503-539-8315.
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Start the Year Off with a Financial Contribution to the Friends | |
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Your contribution to the Friends of the Refuge will help us continue our mission of supporting the Refuge Complex. The Friends Board of Directors will match every dollar towards our $20,000 fundraising goal. We are more than half way there. The Friends received many generous donations in December and we just need $4,000 more to reach our goal and match. These funds help the Friends continue to do what we do best- support the Refuge, the staff and the volunteers.
Please contribute what you can- all donations matter.
Donate on Line Here
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FRIENDS LOVE GIFTS
As we approach the end of the year, please keep in mind that the Friends is a qualified charitable organization, and your donations help fund and sustain our programs. The FTRNWR, a 501(c)(3) organization, has established a brokerage account to receive donations of marketable securities like stocks, mutual funds, ETF’s, and bonds. For a quick overview of how you might maximize the benefits of your charitable gifts, take a look here:
https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/market-news-insights/guidance-perspective/four-tips-charitable-giving
The Friends’ account is held at the local Edward Jones office of Chuck Britton (his office is right next to the Refuge!)
Please contact their office if you need transfer information, or have questions on charitable gifting strategies that will meet your goals:
20015 SW Pacific Highway
Suite 203
Sherwood, OR 97140
(503) 625-4934
chuck.britton@edwardjones.com
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Friends Present a Free Nature Talk For Members and Volunteers | |
Rescheduled Behind the Sign Walk for Friends
Friends Members are invited to join USFWS Biologist Curt Mykut and Friends' ED Bonnie Anderson on an overview tour of Rock Creek. The tour is scheduled for February 25th at 9 AM. We will meet at the Visitor Center and carpool over to the unit. The tour will include a question and answer discussion that may take place back at the refuge, depending on the weather. Please register for the walk here. Members may register to bring one additional guest.
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Youth Environmental Conservation Summit
Cheryl Hart, President and Bonnie Anderson, Executive Director of the Friends have been meeting weekly with area high school students to plan the April 15th Summit. Please feel free to share the information about this event with any high school or middle school student that may be interested in attending. This summit is free to the students. If you would like to support this event please indicate Youth Summit on your donation.
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Habitat Restoration Update
By Carly Hirschmann
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Hello Volunteers!
We have made a lot of progress in our Harvey’s Hayfield restoration area, located towards the wayside side of the Refuge. Thousands of camas bulbs, crown brodiaea bulbs, sedge plugs, penstemon plugs, and Oregon sunshine rhizomes have been installed in the area of just over 10 acres. A grass seed mixture has also been spread across the area. This included a large give back planting event centered around Thanksgiving. The Oregon Chinese Coalition showed up in amazing numbers, along with the Sherwood High School Key Club and others. We started out with a brief history of the project area, the work that had gone into preparing the site for planting, and the historical and ecological importance of camas prairies. I let the volunteers know that if they came back in a year or two with their families, they could walk the trail and witness the awesome
restoration that they were a part of!
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Thank You Volunteers!
We had one of the largest turn outs ever for our Give Back Planting Event on November 19th! Our plantings are a great family friendly activity that allow you to enjoy areas of the Refuge that are closed to the general public. We had nearly 30,000 bulbs to get into our Harvey's Hayfield project area, which will be restored to a camas prairie!
The Friends have purchased $3000 worth of herbaceous plants, shrubs and bulbs for this project. If you would like to help support the Friends with this project please donate here. You can note that your donation is to help support the planting project.
Our February 2nd Saturday Work Party will be on February 11th from 9AM to Noon. We will be getting the rest of these plants in the ground.
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We continue to welcome donations of gently used nature related books for our Natures Overlook store. Thank you to everyone that has reached out about donating.
If you have nature related gently used books that you would like to donate to the Friends, please contact Bonnie about making donation arrangements.
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Volunteer at the Visitor Center and Friends' Nature Store
We are looking to train Friends' volunteers to greet the public, answer questions about the Refuge, and sell merchandise in the store. If you enjoy the Refuge and like talking with people, this may be the perfect volunteer opportunity for you!
No specific experience is necessary; training will be provided. To work in the store, you must be a member of the Friends of the Refuge, and we ask that you commit to working at least two three-hour shifts per month. For more information or to apply to volunteer, contact Natalie Balkam, FWS Park Ranger, at tualatinriver@fws.gov or 503-625-5944.
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This Week at Interior
Jan 13, 2023
This Week: Interior marks National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day; Secretary Haaland establishes an Orphaned Wells Program Office; OSMRE announces $10 million to reclaim abandoned mine lands in Colorado; BOEM has a new Director, and a new proposed rule to advance development of offshore energy resources; the power is on at the Blythe Mesa Solar Project in Riverside, California; Reclamation announces a $7 million investment for water efficiency projects across the West; Interior honors the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service with a food drive and free admittance to public lands; and Hawai'i's Kīlauea volcano makes for a fiery Picture of the Week!
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Friends of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge Complex
19255 SW Pacific Hwy Sherwood, Oregon 97140
503.625.5944 x 15227
www.FriendsofTualatinRefuge.org
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