Table of Contents:

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
• 2009 Year in Review

GETTING THE WORD OUT
• We need you!
• Join NWRA on Facebook!
• NWRA Releases its FY09 Annual Report

NWRA 2009: YEAR IN REVIEW
• Advancing Wildlife and Refuge System Goals in Washington
• Building a Community of Friends
• Working Beyond the Boundaries

FRIENDS CONNECTION
• Is Your Friends Group a NWRA Affiliate?

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Important Dates

DID YOU KNOW...?

• Test Your Refuge System Knowledge!
  

***************

In Challenging Times, A Year of Unprecedented Wildlife Conservation Gains

As we close out 2009, it’s hard to believe that in a year of such economic upheaval and uncertainty for Americans, the National Wildlife Refuge System and its associated conservation programs fared remarkably well.

Victories for the System included a more than $250 million increase for wildlife conservation programs that will give species like the West Indian manatee, desert bighorn sheep and a host of other species a fighting chance. In addition, more than 50 million acres of marine and terrestrial habitat was added to the System in the Western Pacific, bringing the System’s total size to 150 million acres!

There were many victories for wildlife and for the National Wildlife Refuge System in 2009. ©Les Zigurski

The NWRA, affiliated refuge Friends groups, and our valued partners played a crucial role in these and other successes. Having led nearly 250 refuge Friends volunteers to Capitol Hill and spurred thousands of others to speak out in support of increasing funding for the Refuge System and wildlife conservation programs, NWRA has never had a more potent voice in advocating for the Refuge System.

Throughout, NWRA held its own, chalking up tremendous programmatic growth in areas like “Beyond the Boundaries,” while adding key staff and resources. Our success is the result of dedicated leadership from our board of directors, affiliated Friends groups and members, current and former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees, and private citizens who care passionately about America’s wildlife.

To all those who have supported the NWRA in 2009, making it possible to accomplish all that we have on behalf of America’s wildlife, we extend our great appreciation!

Happy holidays and cheers to an exciting year ahead!

Onward and upward!

Share
(return to table of contents)

We Need You!

Please remember NWRA as you consider your charity end-of-year giving! ©John Eriksson

Whether your gift is large or small, the NWRA needs your support during this season of year-end giving!

The National Wildlife Refuge Association is among the most efficient nonprofit organizations in the nation. With an annual budget that hovers near $1 million, we mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers, lead coalitions in Washington and in the field, and leverage hundreds of millions of dollars for wildlife. As a result, your gift to NWRA is magnified many times over – so please, give as generously as you can and we will put those dollars to work!

Please view our 2009 Annual Report to learn more about all that we can accomplish together.

To make your tax-deductible donation today, please:

• Click online at www.refugeassociation.org
• Write a check to NWRA and mail to us at 1250 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036
• Select NWRA’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) # 10076 if you are a federal employee
• Or contact Anne Truslow, Vice President, Strategic Programs & Development at atruslow@refugeassociation.org or (202) 292-2423.

Thank You!

Share
(return to table of contents)

Join NWRA on Facebook!

Become a fan on Facebook and show your friends that you support NWRA! If you haven’t become a fan already, we are easy to find by either visiting http://www.facebook.com/RefugeAssociation, or by searching for “National Wildlife Refuge Association” on Facebook. Don’t forget to tell your friends to become fans as well by clicking “Suggest to Friends” beneath the NWRA logo on our Facebook page!

Now it is also easier than ever to share the Flyer with your Friends on Facebook by clicking the Facebook link at the bottom of each article!

Share
(return to table of contents)

NWRA Releases its FY09 Annual Report

NWRA’s newly-released annual report highlights the organization’s conservation successes for the past fiscal year - July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. In 2009 NWRA has demonstrated the effectiveness of its grassroots and education outreach, public policy advocacy, and innovative “beyond the boundaries” conservation programs. With the support of its donors and partners, NWRA continues to have a significant impact on strengthening the Refuge System to better serve America’s wildlife heritage.

Read more about why NWRA is one of the most efficient wildlife conservation organizations in the country in our 2009 Annual Report

Share
(return to table of contents)

Advancing Wildlife and Refuge System Goals in Washington

In the past year the National Wildlife Refuge System and America’s wildlife came out ahead as a shift in Administration policy and significant influx of federal funding for conservation programs and operational support began to address important needs.

The Refuge System - in terms of total acreage - is now considerably larger than it was only one year ago and provides additional protection to a stunning array of exotic corals, seabirds and other marine animals in the new Marine National Monuments.

NWRA’s tireless efforts to educate Congress and the Administration about the NWRS budget crisis have been rewarded with major successes -- Budget increases over the past three years have totaled $105 million. These increases have stalled plans to enact major refuge staffing cuts that would imperil wildlife.

While still a far cry from budget levels that would adequately meet the mandates of the Refuge System, these increases demonstrate a renewed support from our elected officials for protecting wildlife and provide a strong message to the current Administration to make wildlife conservation a priority in the coming years.

New marine monuments greatly increase the size of the Refuge Rystem; bring new challenges

The marine national monuments managed by the NWRS are home to a variety of fascinating creatures, such as this threateend monk seal. ©FWS

In the final days of his administration former President Bush sought to further his marine conservation legacy by designating three new marine monuments and providing protection for hundreds of millions of acres of marine habitat. Days before leaving office, former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne granted jurisdiction of 54 million acres of land and water within these new monuments to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, expanding the size of the Refuge System by a stunning 58 percent.

Nearly a year after being designated as National Monuments, the vast protected areas within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, and Mariana Trench National Monument, as well as the previously designated Papahanaumoku Marine National Monument, pose new management challenges for the FWS. With a commitment to address these challenges and undertake solutions - such as removing hazardous shipwrecks- the FWS is poised to be the premier stewards of all of our wildlife, including these marine species.

To address the monumental task of managing, coordinating, restoring and enforcing law on lands and waters larger than the size of the state of California, the FWS conservatively estimates a need for between $18 million and $35.5 million annually to meet conservation expectations of partners and Congress.

Stimulating the economy with green jobs on refuges

Facing one of the worst economic downturns in a generation, President Obama and Congress passed an historic $700 billion economic recovery plan that served, in part, to fund vital conservation work on national wildlife refuges.

NWRA and the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) advocated for green jobs on refuges in a plan modeled after depression unemployment relief programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps. NWRA and CARE succeeded in securing $300 million of stimulus funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was passed by Congress in February.

Stimulus projects on refuges vary from road and facilities improvement to major habitat restoration projects, such as removing dikes and restoring natural estuaries at Nisqually NWR in Washington State to provide ideal habitat for migrating shorebirds.

You can track the success of individual NWRS stimulus (ARRA) projects here:
http://recovery.doi.gov/press/bureaus/us-fish-and-wildlife-service/

Record NWRS budget increases will help save wildlife

Congress passed two record budget increases for the Refuge System this year, demonstrating powerful support for conserving America’s wildlife heritage. The budget for FY09 was passed in March, after a continuing resolution (CR) allowed federal agencies to continue operating on FY08 budgets into the new year. The much-needed increase brought the budget for the Refuge System to $462.8 million and funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $42.5 million for NWRS land acquisition.

The Refuge System saw a second major increase in funding this fall when Congress passed the Interior Appropriations bill for FY 2010. The $40 million increase brought the NWRS budget to $503 million, signifying the most robust NWRS budget in years and reaffirming Congress's commitment to providing safeguards for wildlife such as black-footed ferrets, peregrine falcons, and caribou by strengthening the world's preeminent wildlife conservation system. Additionally, Refuge System funding for land acquisition within the LWCF was doubled in FY10 to $86 million, giving the FWS a powerful tool to acquire habitat to protect West Indian manatees and other species.

Click here for more information

Alaskan “Road to Nowhere” Stalled; Pending Environment Assessment

In an ironic turn, amid a bill that approved large new areas of wilderness and significant conservation gains, Congress struck a disappointing blow to Izembek NWR, home to brown bears, caribou and hundreds of thousands of migratory birds- including virtually every Pacific brant that migrates along the West Coast each year. With the passage of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11) Congress approved the construction of a road through the heart of Izembek Wilderness pending completion of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) conducted by the FWS. If constructed, the road would disrupt important wildlife habitat and set a dangerous precedent by allowing a road to be built in an area designated by Congress to be “untrammeled by man” under the landmark 1964 Wilderness Act.

Biologists at Izembek NWR are researching what it is that is driving these Steller's eiders towards extinction. ©FWS

The EIS was added by Congress, bowing to pressure from the NWRA and other conservation groups that exposed the road as an unnecessary $55 million boondoggle for a tiny community of 800 at the American taxpayer’s expense. An environmental impact statement (EIS) completed on the Izembek road project in 1998 concluded that constructing a road through the refuge would irreparably harm wildlife, and prompted the purchase of the state of the art hovercraft that is currently being successfully used by the Cold Bay and King Cove communities.

NWRA is confident the results of a renewed environmental assessment on the impacts of the road will confirm that the project is not in the public interest and will destroy a globally significant habitat and put threatened species such as the Steller’s eider at serious risk. This is bolstered by recent studies indicating that the duck is in a serious decline for unknown reasons. Building a road through the refuge would both hinder the important research being completed on eider populations as well as introduce unnecessary risks to a complicated species facing extinction.

Read more about the Steller’s eider research at Izembek NWR here.
Learn more about what NWRA does to protect Izembek NWR here.

Focusing On Wildlife In the Climate Change Debate

The House passed historic “Cap and Trade” climate legislation this year that if enacted would reduce the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollutants that are warming our planet and threatening the survival of almost every species on earth. Despite this progress, debate continues to stall the bill in the Senate.

In September NWRA was joined by 110 Friends groups from around the country in signing a letter urging Congress to pass a comprehensive climate change bill that includes measures to protect wildlife and ensure that species can adapt to a climate that has been altered by human activity.

Additionally, last month NWRA submitted comments on a FWS draft strategic plan for climate change. The draft strategic plan and 5-year action plan address the impacts of climate change on America’s fish, wildlife and plant resources and provide principles and strategies to guide the agency in a period of accelerating climate change.

NWRA commended the FWS for defining its role in national climate change efforts and for identifying three key strategies to address climate change- adaptation, mitigation, and engagement. NWRA encouraged FWS to engage Friends in its climate change and wildlife adaptation strategies. Friends can galvanize volunteers to help with inventory and monitoring when appropriate and more importantly, can tell the story of how climate change impacts wildlife and habitat in local communities.

The draft plans were open for public comment through the end of November and are not yet finalized.

NWRA Plaintiff in Lawsuit to Restrict Winter Feeding of Elk at National Elk Refuge in Wyoming

In 2008 NWRA and other environmental organizations filed a federal lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to continue winter feeding of elk and bison herds on the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming. The coalition, of which Earthjustice is the lead counsel, argues that feeding elk during the winter leaves the large herd vulnerable to diseases such as brucellosis and chronic-wasting disease. The practice began in 1910 following several severe winters in the region, and today continues to draw tourists as well as support from the state of Wyoming.

This year NWRA finalized its arguments for summary judgment to order the FWS to revise its management plan for the Elk Refuge by arguing that the current NWRS “plan to make a plan” not only fails NEPA standards, but also violates the 1997 Refuge Improvement Act. Ann Harvey, an NWRA board member and wildlife biologist in Jackson, Wyoming, filed an important affidavit in support of NWRA’s case against the Service.

Share
(return to table of contents)

Building a Community of Friends

The 2009 National Wildlife Refuge System "Friends Unite!" Conference, co-hosted by NWRA and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), was held in February in downtown Washington, DC. The conference was the largest such gathering in the history of the Friends movement, attended by nearly 300 Friends from 49 states and 162 different organizations representing more than 230 national wildlife refuges and by almost 200 FWS staff. The Friends Group and Refuge System Volunteer of the year awards were presented at an evening reception to the Friends of Pool 9 and Marie Springer, respectively.

Over 200 Friends 'Stormed the Hill' to promote increased funding for Refuges last winter © Evan Hirsche

Following the Friends Conference, NWRA led 228 Friends from 131 Friends groups, representing more than 146 refuges across 44 states in all 8 NWRS regions, to Capitol Hill in pursuit of increased National Wildlife Refuge System funding. The group was among the largest to advocate on Capitol Hill for the Refuge System at one time!

Later that month NWRA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) presented the 2009 awards for Refuge Manager and Employee of the year to Greg Siekaniec of Alaska Maritime NWR and Baron Horiuchi of Hakalau Forest NWR, respectively.

In April, NWRA President Evan Hirsche was featured in the Southwest Airlines “Spirit” in-flight magazine. And one lucky winner will visit Alaska refuges next summer thanks to this past summer’s sweepstakes in partnership with Barbara’s Bakery.

May saw the launch of the 2009 Refuge Photo contest, sponsored by ATP Oil and Gas. Ted Steinke’s striking image of harriers at Bear River Refuge won the top prize in this highly successful contest, completing its fourth year of attracting photos of exceptional quality.

NWRA also gained capacity during the year - welcoming four new board members and growing NWRA staff by 40 percent! The new support will help NWRA further engage local communities through refuge Friends Groups and expand programs to protect America’s wildlife by reaching beyond refuge boundaries.

Share
(return to table of contents)

Working Beyond the Boundaries

NWRA’s Beyond the Boundaries program rocketed ahead in 2009 as we continued to build on our established partnerships and forged new efforts.

Since 2006, NWRA has helped to develop model partnerships and landscape conservation strategies through the Beyond the Boundaries program. The goal of the program is, fundamentally, to help refuges accomplish their conservation mission on the ground. Within that goal, NWRA seeks to:

• Share successful strategies
• Engage new and diverse partner groups
• Develop new models
• Support FWS goals and objectives

For more information on our “Beyond the Boundaries” program visit: http://refugeassociation.org/new-publications/sos.html

2009 Beyond the Boundaries Snapshots from Across the Country

Southern Nevada

This year in Southern Nevada, NWRA worked with the Service to help advance land acquisition efforts at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, which has resulted in the addition of more than 200 acres to the Refuge, including critical springs that provide habitat for Ash Meadows and Warm Springs pupfish, and a number of rare and threatened desert plants.

Encompassing over 1.6 million acres of Mojave Desert landscape, the four refuge units of Desert NWR protect a diversity of habitat. ©Evan Hirsche

Additionally NWRA is helping to create a plan and campaign that would celebrate the full spectrum of natural wonders found on more than 7 million acres of public lands that stretch from the Mojave Desert, across Desert NWR Complex and the Las Vegas Valley and on to Lake Mead, the Grand Canyon, and Southern Utah.

Looking forward, NWRA is helping to identify important conservation actions that will protect wildlife corridors for desert bighorn sheep, habitat for desert tortoise, and important water resources – all of which face increased threats by both residential and now aggressive renewable energy speculation and development.

Oregon

NWRA is working with the Oregon Coastal Refuge Complex to help establish a more comprehensive partnership between the six refuge units and the extensive network of State Parks that trace this magnificent scenic coastline, and where state park lands overlook coastal refuge rocks and islands where seabirds nest, sea lions bask, and whales spout along their migration. Ideally, the partnership will expand to include joint support for volunteer rangers and environmental education and outreach efforts.

In addition, NWRA is supporting the Complex’s efforts to identify and acquire key estuarine and upland habitat that needs to be protected for both immediate species conservation purposes and longer term adaptation to climate change. Finally, in 2009, Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge benefited from NWRA’s advocacy for funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Florida

Critical West Indian manatee habitat at Crystal River NWR is one step closer to being protected from development. ©Keith Ramos

NWRA is also helping to guide a long-term habitat management and visitor services plan that will benefit manatees, wood storks, and waterfowl as well as the Crystal River community and visitors from far and wide.

Lower Mississippi

In 2009, NWRA began the implementation phase of a long-term effort to acquire and restore important Mississippi River bottomlands. This year, NWRA identified key acquisitions and conservation actions that would strengthen habitat values at Cache River NWR in Arkansas and Tensas River NWR in Louisiana and began working with the USFWS and partners to further develop carbon and ecosystem services funding mechanisms to complement traditional funding sources like the Migratory Bird Funds and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The Delmarva Peninsula

On the Delmarva Peninsula, NWRA has focused on the Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and specifically Blackwater NWR in Maryland, where the impact of climate change is already evident. NWRA is working with the refuge to create a vision and set of priorities that will best address wildlife adaptation to changing habitat, support a transitional landscape, engage the community, and forge stronger bonds between state and federal agency initiatives in this part of the Chesapeake. As this effort proceeds, NWRA will share lessons and strategy with other Delmarva refuges that face similar challenges.

Beyond the Boundaries: New Initiatives

In 2009, NWRA was invited and selected four new Beyond the Boundaries focus areas. These include:

The Bear River Watershed: The Bear River meanders through three refuges in three states – Cokeville Meadows NWR in Wyoming, Bear Lake NWR in Idaho, and finally Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah, where it spreads out in a delta as it drains into the Great Salt Lake. NWRA is working with all three refuges to develop a landscape conservation strategy for the Bear River watershed that will emphasize water quality, water quantity, and wildlife habitat integrity, while also developing a complementary outreach and education program.

The Connecticut River: Traveling over 400 miles from the snowmelt of New Hampshire’s Northern Forest to the barrier beaches of Long Island Sound, the Connecticut River flows through four New England states and its watershed encompasses some 7.2 million acres. The Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was founded to protect the migratory fish and wildlife species that depend upon this north-south river, and as such the Conte Refuge is a natural model for analyzing wildlife adaptation to climate change.

Moving forward NWRA will work with the refuge, Friends, and partners at Conte to leverage many new and existing sources of funding to conserve critical wildlife corridors and high resource value habitat while also engaging communities and landowners in the Conte vision.

Additionally, exciting new “Beyond the Boundaries” projects will help conserve black footed ferrets, elk, and a host of other species that live on the Montana Prairie, as well as projects that aim to restore the Northern Everglades.

Share
(return to table of contents)

Is Your Friends Group an NWRA Affiliate?

NWRA owes much of its success this year to the amazing growth and effectiveness of refuge Friends groups, and NWRA affiliates in particular!

Since the program's launch in 2003, the number of NWRA Friends Group Affiliates has grown to 190 - representing diverse locales across the country. From taking action on Capitol Hill for refuge and wildlife issues to facilitating our “Beyond the Boundaries” conservation efforts, the impact of NWRA Friends affiliates has been nothing short of outstanding!

More than 100 Friends groups recently joined NWRA in signing on to a letter urging Congress to address wildlife adaptation. And Friends were essential to this year’s successful effort to obtain important funding increases for the NWRS budget and for refuge land acquisition.

Additionally, NWRA is pleased that despite difficult economic times, many affiliates have stepped up to make financial contributions to NWRA, taking us halfway to our FY11 goal for dollars to strengthen our grassroots outreach! Thanks to this generosity NWRA has been able to welcome Joan Patterson as our Director of Grassroots Outreach, putting these gifts directly to work for the Friends movement!

For a listing of NWRA Affiliate groups, click here. To learn more or to become an affiliate, contact Joan Patterson at jpatterson@refugeassociation.org.

Share
(return to table of contents)

Join the Friends for the 2010 Refuge Friends “Fly In” and Hill Rally!

On Tuesday, March 9th, 2010, National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) and Friends are heading to Capitol Hill!

Friends successfully rallied on the Hill earlier this year to secure a $40 million increase for the Refuge System! In the words of Norm Dicks, Chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, “The NWRA and its affiliated Friends groups are indispensable to alerting Congress to the needs of our national wildlife refuges.”

We urge you to send at least one representative from your Friends group to join others from around the nation on March 9th, culminating with a reception on Capitol Hill that evening.

Friends will arrive March 8th in time for a short advocacy training session in late afternoon. Differing from past years, there will not be a National Friends Conference in 2010; we are asking you to come to Washington for the sole purpose of communicating the needs of your refuge and the Refuge System to Congress.

Be sure to budget for transportation, food and lodging. NWRA is working to find a block of reasonably priced hotel rooms in the area for the nights of the 8th and 9th and will have hotel information to you shortly. So that we may better estimate our needs, please let me know as soon as possible who from your organization will be attending – or at least that you are trying to attend.

For more information about the Friends Fly - In contact Joan Patterson, Director of Grassroots Outreach

Share
(return to table of contents)

Celebrating 50 years of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2010! But it’s not the only refuge celebrating an important birthday next year - 8 other refuges will celebrate 50 years of wildlife conservation - including the Izembek NWR - and 23 will turn 75 years old.

Sign up to receive future issues of the Flyer through our Refuge Action Network!

Join NWRA now!