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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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There are just a few shopping days left until Christmas, but there is still time to order from the Nature’s Overlook online shopping portal on the Friends’ website. Items may be picked up on Saturday morning, Dec. 18 or Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 22, or at other times by appointment. Earrings, ornaments, scarves, socks, books, and toys are just a few of the products which can be purchased online.
Nature’s Overlook operated a successful outdoor Holiday Market on December 4th and 5th in a tent next to the Visitor Center, which is still closed due to Covid-19. It was wonderful to be able to interact with customers face-to-face – masked and socially distanced, of course. We welcomed 16 new members to the Friends! Shoppers were able to find items to give as gifts to friends and family or to donate to one of the two local organizations we are partnering with to collect toys and gifts for low-income children. People were extremely generous in donating to both of those organizations. The deadline for donating to Greenway Elementary School in Beaverton has passed, and we delivered a substantial number of stuffed animals, books, and games to them.
There is still time to donate to the SHARE Family Resource Center at the Sherwood School District. They will continue to accept gifts until Dec. 18. We make it easy for you to donate. Order online and we will deliver your items to SHARE before their deadline.
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President's Perch
I am very pleased that we were able to have our first live event on December 4th and 5th, After almost 2 years of the Visitor Center being closed, we held an outdoor Holiday Market in front of the building with numerous store items available. Attendance was great and we added 16 new members to The Friends! I was happy to spend some time there along with Bonnie Anderson, Irene Vlach, George Burnett, Sharon Miller, Phyllis Millan, Frank Nusser, and Sara Abel. Other than Saturday afternoon, the weather cooperated surprisingly well. We are all looking forward to a time when the Natures Overlook store will be open again.
On December 2, members of the Regional Office of US Fish and Wildlife toured the Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Robyn Thorson, Regional Director, Hugh Morrison, Deputy Regional Director and Dave Clark, Regional Business Advisor joined Refuge staff and Friends staff for a site visit and discussion on the history and future plans of Wapato Lake NWR. We are excited to see this project moving forward. Likewise, the Chicken Creek restoration continues to move forward. The Chicken Creek restoration blog has an excellent article about the project at
https://medium.com/usfwspacificnw/why-wetlands-matter-restoring-a-small-creek -makes-a-big-impact-for-the-local-community-f415f04b78d6
I also wanted to make sure everyone knew that there is a new project leader at the refuge replacing Larry Klimek who recently retired. Her name is Rebecca Chuck. Rebecca began her career with the Service in 1991 as a volunteer at Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge where she helped conduct wildlife surveys while finishing her degree in Wildlife Management at Humboldt State University. In 1995, she began working as a Refuge Operations Specialist at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge where she served as the water rights specialist, coordinated the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, and participated in all aspects of refuge management. In 2002, Chuck was selected as the Deputy Project Leader for the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex and has spent the past 19 years working
to protect this vital habitat. We are all excited to have her joining us here.
-Tom
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US Fish & Wildlife Wants to Hear From You
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is exploring public use alternatives at Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge, in Gaston, Oregon. We have completed a DRAFT Public Access Plan and Environmental Assessment which describes various alternatives of how wildlife observation, photography and hiking can occur on this public land. The Draft document is attached to this email.
The comment period for this DRAFT is now open through January 15th, 2022. During this time, we genuinely welcome your comments, questions and suggestions to help shape the additional activities that may occur on the refuge. Your consideration and feedback on this document is important and greatly appreciated as we continue to develop this wonderful community asset.
Additional information may be found on our Refuge website at:
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/wapato_lake/
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/wapato_lake/what_we_do/pap/
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News From The Board by Irene Vlach
Last month I introduced the officers of the Board, and mentioned our struggle in recruiting board members that represent both the diversity of our community and of our visitors to the Refuge. Did you ever think it would be interesting and rewarding to join our board but didn’t pursue it because you felt intimidated? It used to be that someone asked you to join the board, you agreed to do it, and before you knew it, you were sitting in a meeting, feeling lost. You couldn’t follow the discussion, you were not familiar with the acronyms, you didn’t dare ask questions because you didn’t want to make an already long meeting even longer...
Things have changed! The Board of the Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge has spent most of last year thinking how we can make new board members feel welcome.
READ MORE BELOW
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So Many Pintails at TRNWR This Year! by Tom Hartz
My wife Chris and I enjoy our walks on the refuge all year, especially those that we couple with a lunch at Ancestry Brewery before returning home. This fall, we weren’t able to get as many walks in as usual. Chris’ volunteering load at the LO Library crept up a bit, as did mine with the Friends. November was particularly hard because when we were available, it was typically rainy and cold. December 1 began like the perfect day to get back on the trail. Neither Chris nor I had commitments that day. The sky was cloudless and the temperature brisk but invigorating. We put on warm jackets, packed up our camera and headed to Sherwood at about 11:30AM.
We live about 6 miles north of the refuge. As we approached the Durham Road/Pacific Highway intersection, the sky to the south looked ominous. At the Visitor Center Overlook, the view was dramatic, but not what we had hoped for. We did see a few resting Pintails on the water, but very few other migrating visitors. READ MORE BELOW
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Oregon Chinese Coalition Day of Service
‘Today it has been windy, rainy, and very cold. The children walked half a mile to plant seeds. The road is very muddy, and the planting place is like a swamp. The temperature in the wilderness is very low due to wind and rain, and everyone’s hands are almost frozen. The kids got very good exercise! Working hard to realize our potential in a difficult environment, we did it! !’- A parent's translated feedback about the planting event at Wapato Lake NWR
On December 4th, youth from the Oregon Chinese Coalition organized a work party, in conjunction with Refuge and Friends' staff, to plant wapato bulbs at Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Gaston, Oregon.
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Peer Connect孩子们前往保护区参加服务日 | 春暖花开的时候，很少有人记得寒冷雨季的辛苦。来自我们 Peer Connect 计划的孩子们昨天来到加斯顿的瓦帕托湖国家野生动物保护区(Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Gaston)参加活动，在湖中种下瓦帕托植物的种子。孩子们在湿冷天气中的表现令我们对他们刮目相看，下面摘录几段家长在义工群里面的发言。 ... | | | |
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On Monday December 6th members of the Board, Refuge Staff and Friends Staff toured the new facilities at Fernhill Wetland in Forest Grove. Fernhill is a waste water facility that is also an exceptional place to bird watch and is part of Clean Water Services. CWS is one of our most active partners in the restoration efforts at both Refuges. We were invited by our former FOR Environmental Education Coordinator, Seth Winkelhake. Seth now works for CWS and is responsible for Volunteers and Education at Fernhill.
Our tour included the new Visitor Center and Volunteer building. We collaborated on ways we can work together in the future, especially with work planned in the nearby Gaston School District. One program that Seth was eager to show us was the walk thru "This IS Kalapuyan Land" exhibit from Five Oaks Museum and the story walks that he designed for their younger visitors.
We encourage everyone to visit Fernhill, but note the Visitor Center is not yet open to the public and they also do not allow dogs on the trails.
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News From The Board Continued
We grappled how we can help them learn about the Refuge and its issues, so that new board members can quickly become effective contributors, not only in meetings, but also on committees. We are also streamlining the recruitment process: once you express interest in joining the board, you will have one-on-one conversations with three different board members, which will allow you to ask any questions you might have about your future contribution to the board. These conversations will also allow you to get a clear understanding of the organization will expect from you as a board member. Once you are elected to the board, experienced board members will mentor you and train you to speed up your full integration into the team. Furthermore, all board members undergo regular training, watching webinars, or short presentations on specific topics during board meetings.
This is my 4th year on the Board, and while serving on the Board is a time commitment, it also is an extremely rewarding endeavor. I have the utmost respect of the other board members. They all are highly dedicated to the Refuge, to the organization and to the well-functioning of the board. This is a very congenial team, there is little dissention and most votes pass unanimously.
It truly is a privilege to be working side by side to advance together the mission of the
organization: Joyfully Connecting Our Community with the Wonder of the Refuge.
Will you join us?
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So Many Pintails at TRNWR This Year! Continued
A friendly gentleman with a camera alerted us that he spotted some Sapsuckers and Ruby-Crowned Kinglets in the bushes along the year-round trail just past the Habitat Edges Study Site. I got a fuzzy picture of a Kinglet, which was a challenge because they’re very skittish. High shutter speeds and overcast skies don’t usually lead to sharp images with a telephoto lens. We walked past the River Overlook and then turned around to go back home. Ancestry Brewery wasn’t open for lunch.
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On December 3, Chris was volunteering but I had a free day. The sky was cloudless and the temperature comfortable. I arrived at the Refuge at about 11:30AM. From the VC Overlook, the sky above and water below were just about the same color. On the water, the island in front of the Overlook, and grassy banks were thousands of waterfowl. The vast majority of the birds were Northern Pintails. Most were resting or pedaling slowly around. More groups were flying in. There were small clusters of males and females hanging out together. I’ve never seen so many Pintails!
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They seemed to feel safe on the Refuge. None was spooked when the few Buffleheads popped up from underwater. They ignored a Nutria who swam among them. They so far outnumbered the Canada Geese on the banks that the geese waited offshore for a spot to lie down. The heavy equipment operating out along the restored Chicken Creek didn’t seem to bother them either.
I never ventured off the Overlook on my 90-minute visit that day. I did go home to download my pictures and begin researching about the migration patterns of Northern Pintails. I haven’t yet found a definitive reason for why there were so many that day. I’m inclined to think that the recent aerial river moving across the upper northwest may have caused the Pintails to head south all at once. It was a truly memorable visit!
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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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