Winter 2022 Friends Newsletter | |
Board members Lisa Kerr, Diane Young and Jill Scofield with Refuge Project Leader Damien Miller at the Ankeny Hill Nature Center grand opening. | |
|
Message from the Vice President Lisa Kerr
In June 2021, I was voted in as Vice President. It is an honor to be a part of a group of dedicated volunteers who invest their time in making the serenity of nature available to all people.
We have been very busy behind the scenes preparing to open the three refuges to the public. I would like to thank the volunteers who helped create such a memorable opening of the Ankeny Hill Nature Center this month. A special thank you goes to Bobbie and Pat Allaire, the Volunteer Coordinators. The huge success of this event is due, in part, to your time and dedication in facilitating the multitude of educational opportunities at the Refuge for the public’s participation.
At William L Finley, The Woodpecker Loop has been completed with the addition of a kiosk at the beginning of the trail. The beauty and importance of Snag Boat Bend was brought to light by the amazing video that was a collaboration of the USFWS and Willamette Riverkeepers. You can find a link to the video on our website, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter. In May, the Friends group will be collaborating with the Willamette River Keepers to host a river cleanup. Look on our social media for updates on this volunteer opportunity.
The USFWS at Baskett Slough has been working on a riparian restoration project of the Dusky marsh. We were able to contribute to the USFWS to help carry out this project. Riparian habitat is of vital importance to the ecological health of the refuge.
We look forward to welcoming our members and the public back to the refuges. Our board members have been busy planning outreach activities to engage and enrich your experience.
| | | |
WINTER WILDLIFE FIELD DAYS | |
Join us for the 8th Annual Winter Wildlife Field Days from March 1st - March 31st!
We are excited to bring you 31 days of nature and adventure! The theme for 2022 is Nature Night and Day. Nineteen community partners are creating dozens of things for you to do over the course of the month: crafts, science experiments, owl hikes, story times, nature field guides, scavenger hunts, animal hide-and-seek, educational videos, games and pop-up activity stations.
Starting March 1st, the Nature Explorer Guide will be available online and for pick-up in Corvallis City Parks and the Ankeny Hill Nature Center. It will help you navigate through all of the Winter Wildlife Field Days' activities and serve as a mini nature notebook.
We will also have Field Stations staffed by volunteers set-up around Benton County and the Ankeny Hill Nature Center on different days and times throughout the month of March. Stop by and pick up special event stickers and even dissect an owl pellet. Whoooooo did that owl eat? Once you find out, feel free to take the skeleton you create home with you!
Everything is in both Spanish and English.
| | | |
Welcome our new board members! | |
 | Dianna Fisher was born and raised in Massachusetts but left to join the Army not long after high school. After living all over the US and in several different countries, she happily calls Oregon home. Dianna has a Masters in Anthropology and a PhD in Environmental Sciences, specializing in Recreation impacts from Oregon State. She has over 18 years of experience in education – much of it online. As an amateur photographer, Dianna generally has her camera and binoculars along when visiting any of the refuges or out in the forest. Her love of wildlife and culture draws her to travel all over the world with one of her favorite destinations being the continent of Africa. On a recent trip she was able to spend time up close with the mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda and then to South Africa to help track and monitor the world’s most trafficked animal – the pangolin. Dianna looks forward to bringing some of the refuges online and into homes of those who can’t immediately visit. | |  |
 | Anne Hatley's experience includes 40+ years of work in federal, state, local and tribal government agencies as well as non-profit organizations. Much of her work has focused on programs for disadvantaged individuals or communities. Anne spent the last 10 years of her career at OSU, coordinating programs and providing administrative support for educational initiatives. Along with her education (Masters in Public Administration, BA in Community Organization) this experience allowed her to develop skills that are useful in a variety of organizational settings, especially in the areas of program planning and management. She’s been an active volunteer throughout her adult life. This includes serving on various boards and committees, e.g. the Linn Benton Housing Authority and more recently on the Albany Regional Museum Policy Committee. Anne hopes her background can complement the Friends’ effort to foster awareness and appreciation of the refuge complex. Anne has a lifelong love of nature and grateful acknowledgement from years of hiking, climbing, canoeing, and birding throughout the Pacific Northwest! | | |
Snag Boat Bend:
A Tale of Restoration and Refuge
| |
|
Snag Boat Bend is a Unit of William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, located between Eugene and Corvallis on the floodplain of the Willamette River, in Oregon. This short documentary highlights the history, habitat importance, and restoration activities recently implemented in the area, as well as aquatic invasive weeds, and how individuals can help make a difference in protecting floodplain habitats for salmon and other wildlife species in the Willamette basin.
Produced by Willamette Riverkeeper in partnership with Long Tom Watershed Council, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Friends of the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex, with special thanks to River Design Group and Freshwaters Illustrated.
| |
Seeking New Board Members! | |
|
The Friends Board of Directors strives to maintain an inclusive and dynamic board. The time commitment averages 3-6 hours/month, with a 3-year term.
Outreach Coordinator: Quarterly Outreach Events, Nature walks, Coordination of events with Outreach Committee, Webinars.
Social Media Specialist: Updating of Webpage, Facebook and other social media platforms.
Membership Specialist: Help membership coordinator: Participate in researching member management options and ways to connect & grow our membership.
We extend our invitation to you as active users of WVNWRC.
If you are interested in joining our board, please contact
Diane Young at secretary.friends@gmail.com for a board member application packet. We hope you consider this opportunity to help us maintain our mission statement.
Friends Mission Statement
Promoting the conservation of the natural resources of the refuge complex. Fostering awareness and appreciation of the complex through educational and recreational opportunities. Participating in activities that help the complex achieve its goals.
| | |
Motus: Coming Soon to Ankeny Hill Nature Center | |
|
Ankeny is top of the list for best sites to put a Motus station here in the Pacific Northwest and the state has approved one for installation at Ankeny Hill Nature Center. When in place, this will be the only Motus station in the Willamette Valley north of Lane County. What is a Motus Station? As explained on the Motus Wildlife Tracking System website:
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international collaborative network of researchers that use automated radio telemetry to simultaneously track hundreds of individuals of numerous species of birds, bats, and insects. The system enables a community of researchers, educators, organizations, and citizens to undertake impactful research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. When compared to other technologies, automated radio telemetry currently allows researchers to track the smallest animals possible, with high temporal and geographic precision, over great distances.
| |
Ankeny Hill Nature Center Welcome Week | |
|
Over 1150 visitors discovered the AHNC during Welcome Week!
Photos courtesy of Board Treasurer Jill Scofield
| |
2022 Project Updates--Your Membership Matters! | |
|
By: D. Young
The Friends’ Board of Directors is pleased to inform you about the 2022 USFWS Project Vote we completed at our February board meeting. We couldn’t help fund this without your financial donations and memberships. We thank you. The Friends’ Mission is always on our mind when we select projects: Promoting the conservation of the natural resources of the refuge complex; fostering awareness and appreciation of the complex through educational and recreational opportunities and participating in activities that help the complex achieve its goals.
Once again we selected one of our favorite projects: Streaked Horned Lark Nest Monitoring. This threatened species was listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Willamette Valley NWR provides many acres of habitat for these birds to breed, nest and thrive. William L Finley and Baskett Slough are two of their choice places in the Willamette Valley. A seasonal intern from the Environment for the Americas will be hired, and will work with USFWS Biologist, Brian Root. We hope the Streaked Horned Larks have a successful breeding year. A detailed report is always written. We will share it with you later this year.
We also chose The Dusky Marsh Riparian and Restoration Planting at Baskett Slough as one of our major contributions. The Dusky Marsh Stream Channel Fish Passage Project restores approximately 4000’ of stream channel while rebuilding and restoring this wetland unit. The goal of this project is to improve the existing 98 acre marsh by removing a fish ladder barrier and restoring a degraded channelized agriculture ditch into a natural meandering stream. Over 10,000 bare root native plants have been purchased from our local Soil and Water Conservation District and will be planted this spring. Let’s hope we have rain, no heat domes and plenty of
cool-Oregon sunshine to help these plants along. Many plants are ones that I am sure you recognize: Oregon Ash, Pacific Willow, White Oak, Western Spirea, and Red Osier Dogwood. This exciting project will enhance habitat for many species of birds, mammals and amphibians. Long live our beautiful Dusky Marsh!
We will continue to help fund smaller projects as they arise this year. Our Outdoor Discovery Environmental Education Experience at Woodpecker Loop Trail is now in full swing! Stop by and check it out! Pack yourself a little lunch and relax at the Environmental Education Shelter (also funded by your donations and membership dues in 2018) and enjoy the view. Remember: Your stewardship of our wonderful WVNWRC is so appreciated. We couldn’t contribute without you.
| |
|
|
Wild Goose Nature Store offers appointment only shopping and sales via email! | | | |
Friends 2023 Calendar
Your photos wanted!
| |
|
Contribute photos to the 2023 calendar by submitting them to
friendswvphotos@gmail.com
DEADLINE: July 15, 2022
We are especially interested in photos that capture the seasons of the refuges.
In 2021, the Friends produced and printed a calendar that was a showpiece of beautiful photographs from our National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The theme of the calendar was “The Faces of the Refuges'”
In addition to providing beautiful, functional calendar that reminds us of the intrinsic beauty of wildlife at our local refuges throughout the year, the project helped our organization connect with the community of skilled wildlife photographers in our midst, and to share their skills and photographs with our members and supporters who truly appreciate their craft.
The calendar also increased recognition of the values and benefits of our local National Wildlife Refuges. It helped us to achieve our mission of fostering awareness and appreciation of our wildlife refuges and refuge system.
Profits from the 2023 calendar will fund future conservation-related projects.
|  | | | | |
