Fall 2023 Friends Newsletter | |
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In this season of Thankfulness
we are
thankful for you!
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One of the mushrooms you can find and photograph at the refuges are these turkey tail mushrooms. | |
During the construction of the Woodpecker Loop Trail at Finley NWR, this successful turkey nest was found. | |
You might see turkey nests and turkey tail mushrooms, so get out there and enjoy a trail and all the turkeys…tis the sanctuary season. Active right now on our refuges are elk, tundra swans, dusky Canada goose, bald eagles, and the Woodpecker Loop Trail at Finley is open again. Happy Thanksgiving and Take a Hike! | |
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News from
Ankeny Hill Nature Center
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Volunteer Group Makes Ankeny Hill Nature Center Sparkle!
More than 30 volunteers from the Crosscreek Community Church came to the Center in November to help with maintenance and weeding projects! They made the inside of Gehlar Hall sparkle just in time for several upcoming groups who reserved the Hall for nature education.
Are you part of a group that would like to volunteer? Please contact us at volunteers@ankenyhillnaturecenter.org.
Individual volunteers are welcome at Ankeny Hill Nature Center. Come to a free, no commitment, orientation for a guided tour of the Center and find out more! The next volunteer orientation is scheduled for Saturday, January 27, 2024 starting at 10 am. Pre-registration is required.
For more information or to register, contact Pat (he/him/his) and Bobbie (she/her/hers) Allaire, Volunteer Coordinators at volunteers@ankenyhillnaturecenter.org or call (541) 760-3700.
Check out all the events at Ankeny Hill Nature Center: https://www.ankenyhillnaturecenter.org/calendar
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Crosscreek Community Church volunteers filled these bags with weeds, weeds, weeds from the Nature Explore Area! | |
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Notes from the Friends Board
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This summer we welcomed two new members to the Friends Board! | |
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Ron Forrester attended 7th-9th grade (1977-1980) in the heart of the Willamette Valley in Amity, Oregon, and enjoyed those idyllic years fishing and exploring the oak prairies and forests as a teenager. Life then took him to Phoenix, AZ, where he counted the years before he could return to that beautiful land of his childhood in 1997. Ron now works as a leader in software technology, but loves to spend his free time continuing to explore the wild spaces of Oregon. He recently became serious about bird photography, which led him to discover the wonderful wildlife refuges of the central Willamette Valley and the incredible diversity of birds, insects, and mammals these wild-spaces provide for. When he’s not working or behind a camera, Ron and his wife explore and manage their 40-acre forest land outside Vernonia, OR, and tend to their wonderful certified native-habitat backyard in SW Portland. They love camping, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and generally just being in the wild. They’re also kept busy by their two teenaged children, dog, three cats, two guinea pigs, and bearded dragon!
Ron is currently serving as Secretary for the Friends Board of Directors.
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Erin Forrester is a practiced Willamette Valley gardener and naturalist with a strong affinity for PNW native plants and critters of all shapes and sizes. She is a certified Oregon Master Naturalist through OSU, with a focus on the Willamette Valley ecoregion. When not at home, she and her husband, Ron, spend their time exploring Oregon, with a keen eye for dragonflies, birds, herps, lichen and native plants. Erin and Ron have a large home garden and Certified Backyard Habitat through Portland Audubon’s Backyard Habitat Certification Program, where Erin also volunteers as a site certifier for other habitats. She’s crazy about dragonflies and working to find and photograph all species in Oregon! Erin holds a BS in Applied Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and works as a Director of Technology Program Management. She is delighted to apply these skills and her passion to help the Friends Board support our beautiful refuges! | | |
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We extend our invitation to you as active users of WVNWRC to consider this opportunity.
If you are interested, please contact Ron at secretary.friends@gmail.com
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.
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The foundation for the Dave Marshall Classroom, part of the Ankeny Hill Nature Center campus at
Ankeny NWR, was poured in early October. This classroom, situated near the Peregrine Marsh, is
planned to be completed before the end of the year.
| With support from the Friends, the Dave Marshall Classroom has broken ground! The foundation was poured and the steel beams should arrive soon. Once the beams are placed things will really move fast. The floor and framing will happen soon after the beams go in. With rains filling the wetlands at the Refuge it’s neat to see the classroom’s footprint perched over Peregrine Marsh! Just imagine standing on the open grating at the end of the building, literally looking down into the water….It will be an incredible space to watch and be close to wildlife. | |
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Staff prepare to install the last segment of the new non-slip surface decking of the boardwalk. Pictured L-R is Aidan Frye, Maintenance Mechanic for Baskett Slough NWR; Ernie Lowry and Charles Gilson, both Equipment Operators for William L. Finley NWR; and Guthre Ziebarth and Shawn Garrett, both
Maintenance Workers for Wichita Mountains NWR, Oklahoma.
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Staff worked with the concrete truck to pour parking pads for the parking lot at the Woodpecker Loop Trailhead. Two parking pads and a section of ADA/ABA trail are now available for those needing accessibility to the area. | |
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A complete rehabilitation of the Woodpecker Loop trail was finished on September 29th, thanks to efforts of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) Strike Team and staff in the valley. This second part of the project replaced the bridges and boardwalks, installed a non-slip grated surface, and completed the ADA/ABA trail to the pavilion. The new bridges and boardwalks were constructed with non-wood materials, impervious to rot and Made in the USA.
We are happy to share that your continued support for Refuge projects will assist with the purchase of an accessible picnic table for the Woodpecker Loop Trail parking area. Thank you!
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THE WILD GOOSE STORE IS OPEN! | |
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We have a new batch of T-shirts and are delighted to carry the book "For the Love of Nature -- The Adventures and Achievements of William L. Finley and Irene B. Finley" written by Carole and William Finley III (the Finleys' grandson).
Please come in and see us at the WGNS. We would enjoy visiting with you.
We are open all year on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays 10 AM - 4 PM.
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Management at the Refuges
Baskett Slough
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An ATV and tractor placed seed across two prairies at Baskett Slough NWR in October. During the
planting phase of one of these restorations, seed for the threatened Kincaid’s lupine was planted in Field 7Z in an attempt to expand habitat for the threatened Fender’s blue butterfly. Fender’s blue butterflies almost exclusively lay eggs on Kincaid’s lupine in the spring, and need this plant and other adjacent nectar-producers for its’ life cycle.
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From our refuge managers: More Prairie Restoration at Baskett Slough
We have been busy planting and getting to the stage of prairie restoration when we start to put native plants in the ground. In October at Baskett Slough NWR, we were able to restore another 71 acres of prairie, made possible by our partnership with the Institute for Applied Ecology. Field 7Z, a former 43 acre farm field on the west slope of the south butte north of Coville Road, has Fender’s blue butterflies immediately upslope. The refuge was able to seed Kincaid’s lupine (threatened), the Fender’s host plant, and a number of other nectar-producing species. Another 28 acres of wet prairie were restored on the east end of the refuge near the 2021 Dusky Marsh stream restoration project. Part of this area was also a former farm field and will support a large population of Nelson’s checker-mallow in the near future thanks to 55 lbs. of seed of that species alone!
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Contribute Through BottleDrop to Support the Friends and your Refuges | |
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Contribute through Bottle Drop
You can donate funds from your BottleDrop account balance to Friends of the WVNWRC account by logging into your account.
Log into your Bottle Drop account. Click Donate and search for Friends of the WVNWRC. Choose the amount from your balance that you would like to donate and Click on Donate Now!
If you don't yet have an account you can create one: BottleDrop
We are : Friends of the WVNWRC
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