President's Perch

by Cheryl Hart, President

Public Lands Alliance will be holding their annual conference in Portland this year. One of the events being offered to participants is a fieldtrip to Tualatin River NWR on Sunday February 26th. The fieldtrip is SOLD OUT and there are over 50 people from across the US coming to see and learn about our Chicken Creek project and the cooperative partnerships we have here in Washington County. Some of our partners including Friends, Clean Water Services and Metro will be joining refuge manager Rebecca Chuck to tell the story of this extensive project. Each of the partners have a significant story to tell about how their organization works towards conservation and protecting public lands. We are excited to share this project with other public lands entities across the country to let them know about our strong partnerships and the active role that Friends played in making it happen.

Tualatin River NWR and the Chicken Creek project are an example of "what if..." and I

know it will inspire our guests to work with partners to accomplish their mission.

If you haven’t visited the refuge lately, you will hardly recognize it with all the restoration that has happened in the past couple of years. You will be able to enjoy the new meandering Chicken Creek when the seasonal trail opens the first of May. Second Saturday work parties and

other special plantings have been staffed by volunteers from Friends and many organizations such as Oregon Chinese Coalition and Sherwood Rotary. It is so encouraging to see the love and enjoyment of the refuge that these volunteers show.

Also, our refuge parking lot is being expanded to accommodate more visitors at a time. The crew doing the construction is finding ways to do the work without having to close the parking

lot or drive in from the main entrance. The year-round trail is still accessible so come out and enjoy the refuge!

Our refuge will also be hosting a Climate Summit on April 15 that is being put together by

students from Sherwood, Beaverton, and Jesuit High Schools. These youth will be our environmental leaders in the years to come and we are looking forward to giving them an opportunity to see the refuge, learn about the work we do here, and become even more motivated to launch careers in conservation fields.

See you at the Refuge!

Cheryl Hart

Focus on Friends

by Bonnie Anderson, ED

One of my favorite quotes is "Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless but because they are priceless" Volunteers are the reason the Friends and the Refuge can achieve so many amazing accomplishments.

In order for us to emerge from the pandemic and get back to a place of routinely connecting with our community, we needed to have our dedicated volunteers back. I have enjoyed reconnecting with each of you. I have also had the opportunity to meet so many new Friends members that have jumped in and filled the volunteer needs. Each of the contributions these volunteers make ensure an excellent experience when the public is visiting our two refuges. Volunteers have made our restoration work parties, and educational outreach programs impactful. The store volunteers and Trail Rovers ensure that every visitor has a friendly encounter at the Refuge! The volunteer maintenance crew literally move the earth to maintain our beautiful complex. Thank you!

Another group of volunteers that I would like to emphasize is the Friends' Board of Directors. This group of 11 dedicated volunteers give so much of their time and talents to ensure the organization and the programs we support run as smoothly as possible. Have you ever thought about joining the Board? One great way to get started is to sign up and volunteer on one of the many Friends' committees. Some of our committees looking for support include Membership, Fundraising, Special Events and Grant Writing. Want to learn more? I'd love to connect.

Hope to see you on the trails!

Bonnie Anderson