Volunteer

No matter what your skills and interests, you can probably exercise them for the benefit of the Refuges.

Currently, our major projects and volunteer opportunities include:

• Habitat restoration.  This typically involves removing non-native plants, planting native plants, and caring for these plants until they are fully established.  The US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) typically takes care of most of the non-native plant removal, and volunteers do the remainder of the restoration steps.  The USFWS has developed a Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Refuges, which the Refuge Manager uses to plan specific projects. Some of these projects are very large and will take years, for example converting 200 acres of pasture into oak savanna.  Others are smaller, for example converting a one-acre oak stand from blackberries to native grasses and under-story plants.  Over the winter of 2006/2007 we had several hundred volunteers plant over 2,000 shrubs and trees in two habitat restoration projects.  In the summers we need people to water the plants.  In the fall we begin planting again.  Planting continues through the winter until early April.
• Purchasing, starting and growing native plants.  The Conservation Plan calls for hundreds of acres to be planted with native vegetation (shrubs, trees, meadow plants, etc.).  This will require many thousands of plants.  We are setting up a simple nursery near the Refuge office to grow some of the plants.  We would also like to explore the possibility of having interested people in the community grow plants at their homes.  If you enjoy gardening or landscaping, or are interested in native plants, we could really use your help ensuring that we have an appropriate supply of plants for volunteers to plant on the Refuges.
• Locating and removing non-native plants.  This is an ongoing effort to remove non-native blackberries, false indigobush, thistle, etc.  The USFWS typically takes care of large-scale removal of non-native plants, while volunteers remove them from the areas that are inaccessible to the USFWS equipment - in wooded areas, steep slopes, etc.
• Outreach.  The Refuge Stewards are developing a set of outreach materials that we take to community events, where we talk with people about the Refuges.  We also advocate for the Refuges to the community and to government officials.
• Environmental education.  Several of the Refuge Stewards work with local schools, teaching students about the Refuges and the animals and plants that visit and live there.  We are developing plans and have some funding to do much more in the area of environmental education, but we do not yet have enough volunteers to help us complete and implement the plans.
• Biological surveys.  As part of ongoing Refuge management, the Refuge Manager occasionally asks for volunteers to do things such as bird surveys, plant surveys, water quality monitoring, etc.  We would like to develop a pool of trained volunteers who can help with these surveys.
• Fundraising.  The Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  We do not receive funding from the USFWS or any other government organization.  We raise funds through a membership program, grants, donations, and fundraising activities.  In the spring of 2007 we received a small startup grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which provides startup and other grants to Refuge friends groups.  We have many fundraising ideas and plans but need time and volunteers to pursue them.  All of our funds are spent on projects such as those listed above.

Other Projects

We plan to pursue the following but currently lack the resources (volunteers and funds).  In many cases we have projects and interested volunteers, but lack people to coordinate the work.

• Develop or improve public use facilities.  Though most of the Refuge land is closed to the public, the conservation plan calls for the construction of some public facilities.  These include a loop trail at Steigerwald Refuge, and eventually, a visitor's center/education facility, also at Steigerwald.  Our involvement with these could be things such as trail signage, observation stands, etc.
• Ongoing water quality monitoring.  There are several creeks on the Refuges that contain native fish runs.  The USFWS would like to improve the quality of these habitats by improving riparian vegetation, educating upstream landowners, etc.  To measure the effectiveness of these efforts, a number of water quality metrics need to be gathered on a regular basis.  Currently this is only done on a very irregular basis.
• Develop an environmental education curriculum.  This would be used by students at local schools as well as home-schooled students.  It would combine classroom study with work or research at the Refuges.

If you would like to volunteer or have some questions about volunteering, please contact us via email at volunteer@refugestewards.org or by postal mail at the address below.  Please include your interests and any special skills you have.  You can also check our calendar to see all the upcoming work days and hikes.

Our mailing address:

Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards
P.O. Box 827
Washougal, WA 98671