Credit: Ken Sturm/USFWS Alldredge Academy students planted red spruce on Cabin Mountain

The Refuge was established to insure the ecological integrity of Canaan Valley and the continued availability of its wetland, botanical and wildlife resources to the citizens of the United States. There are plenty of opportunities to help and to be involved, as we work towards this goal. Schedules can be worked out to accommodate the volunteer’s needs. The following is a list of current volunteer projects on the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Wild School Day
The Refuge will host a Wild School Day in September. This is an event that will require lots of participation to work! The event will start at 9:00 a.m. and will end about 1:00 p.m. There will be about 12 stations and the kids will rotate between stations, spending 15 minutes at each station performing hand-on activities. Stations last September included; raptors, predator-prey game, slime table, beginning birding, silent night hunters (owls), migration game, law enforcement, snakes, and a stream table. The stations will be set up next to the Visitor Center. We hope to have about 90 6th graders attend. We look for volunteers to help with:

Logistics - help us set up and tear down

Station assistants

Timekeeper

 

Photographer

Forest Restoration Project. - Tree planting days typically happen in April and September.  The group will meet at the Refuge Visitor Center on Rt. 32 each day at 10 am.  This is part of the Refuge’s effort to restore some of the ancient, high elevation forest.  Balsam fir and red spruce will be planted.  We will start with a discussion of the historic role of this forest, and why we are working to restore it. Then we will carpool to the work site and plant some trees!  Bring a lunch and water.  Dress for the weather, in layers.  This program is sponsored by the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge and WV Highland’s Conservancy, often with other partners.  More hands are always welcome.  Please join us!

Visitor Center attendant - This is the refuge’s greatest need for volunteers. Can you spare one day or two half days per month to help us provide information to visitors about what they can do on the refuge? Candidates should enjoy talking to people, and present a clean and neat appearance. Training will be provided.

Adopt a Trail. The staff and the Friends of the 500th are looking for able-bodied people interested in helping to maintain and improve the trails and trail system of the Refuge. Training will be provided. Volunteers will work in pairs or small groups. Each group will adopt a defined stretch of trail. They will be responsible for minor maintenance and checking the trail three times per year. Major maintenance needs will be reported the Refuge managers. Click here for a Trail Maintainer's Report Form.

Adopt a Highway. The Refuge has adopted a two mile stretch of highway along Rt. 32 in front of our office and visitor center. Volunteers are wanted to assist staff in this effort. The next clean-up day is scheduled for September 22, meeting at the Refuge Visitor Center at 8 am.

Develop a butterfly checklist for the Refuge. This can include actively capturing, identifying and mounting example specimens for Refuge archive and visitor’s center. Volunteers would receive equipment and training to identify and mount specimens. Timing would be from May – September or October. Information collected would include: Date, location of capture/sighting, species. All species sighted during each outing would be recorded to detail the times of year each species can be found on the Refuge.

Photo identification book of wildflowers on the Refuge. Volunteers would be equipped with a camera and film to photograph flowering plants on the Refuge. Photos would be edited by volunteers and printed at the Refuge office. Flowers can be organized by color or other key features. Book will be displayed at visitor’s center.

Photograph Refuge trails for interpretive products and visitor information. The Refuge needs good photos of Refuge wildlife observation trails for publications, reports and website information. Volunteers would use Refuge camera and film. Photos should include overlooks, scenic views, visitor’s walking trails, etc..

Mount and label herbarium specimens. The Refuge has a backlog of pressed plants that need to be properly mounted and labeled for permanent storage in the refuge herbarium. Volunteers with some plant identification skills preferred, although most plants are already identified. Once mounted each plant must be entered into a data base to track the Refuge herbarium collection.

Slide inventory and data entry. The Refuge needs help organizing its slide inventory. Slides must be properly organized and entered into a data base for easy retrieval and tracking.

Credit: Vern Patterson Dr. Ben Stout leads a walk from White Grass Ski Touring Center to Freeland Run

Weekend Walk Guides - To qualify for this position you must have some specialized knowledge of some aspect of the natural environment (i.e. birds, wildflowers, nature photography, etc.). Training in trail presentation techniques will be provided. Walk leaders can schedule one walk per month, or one walk per quarter year.

Special Event Volunteer - These individuals help with traveling exhibits and special events on the Refuge. Candidates should enjoy talking to people and present a clean and neat appearance. Volunteers will help visitors enjoy and learn from interactive exhibits, provide refuge information and help with logistics.

Education Volunteer - Are you interested in working with kids? Sharing what you know about nature? Volunteers will help with field trips for school children, scouts, church groups, etc. You may help plan activites, or just help implement the plan.

Maintenance Volunteer - Volunteers work with maintenance staff to keep facilities and equipment in good working order. Please do not volunteer for this position if you have had a back problem.

Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency in the Department of the Interior, for the people of the United States as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Service is the principal agency through which the federal government carries out its responsibilities to conserve, protect and enhance the nation’s fish, wildlife and plant resources. The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is “to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.”