For more information: Pat Tinjum, Secy/Treas, Lostwood Birding and Nature Assn.

Email address: lostwoodbirding@live.com

More than 200 Nonprofit Groups Work on Behalf of National Wildlife Refuges

Record Turnout for National Friends Conference

Pat Tinjum, a member of the Lostwood Birding and Nature Association, joined a record number of national wildlife refuge Friends and staff at the largest National Friends Conference held in the history of the Refuge Friends movement.  Sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Wildlife Refuge Association, the conference drew nearly 300 Refuge Friends representing more than 160 separate organizations and about 150 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff in Washington, D.C., February 21-23.

The Friends conference focused on such central issues as the impact of climate change on national wildlife refuges, the vitality of citizen science programs, and how the nonprofit organizations can grow.  Refuge Friends organizations now boast more than 50,000 members nationwide, who support the world’s most extensive network of public lands devoted to wildlife habitat and wildlife conservation.

Established in 2007, the Lostwood Birding and Nature Association has more than 20 members.  The Association partners with Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Burke County Job Development, and other community organizations to produce the Burke County Birding Festival at the refuge.  The Burke County Birding Festival is an annual event featuring educational seminars and presentations as well as guided birding tours.  The seminars focus primarily on birds and birding issues, as well as issues associated with enhancing understanding of our natural environment and conservation.  The festival is a family event that includes interesting and educational programs for adults as well as youth.

“Meeting other people involved with Friends groups from across the nation was very interesting. It’s always good to network with others to learn what works and what doesn’t work for others volunteering in the same way I do,” said Pat Tinjum.

More than 200 nonprofit Refuge Friends organizations across the country work on behalf of the national wildlife refuges in their communities, including the Lostwood Birding and Nature Association, which is affiliated with Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge. 

"We've had great success working with the Lostwood Birding and Nature Association, and we are glad to have this exposure to other Friends Organizations to learn more ways to strengthen our partnership," says Dave Gillund, Project Leader of the Lostwood Refuge Complex.

Upcoming activities for the Association include:

• The Burke County Birding Festival June 12 & 13, 2009 at Lostwood NWR.
• The Association will have their Annual Meeting at the refuge on Sat., June 13, following the close of the Festival.  Everyone is welcome – you don’t have to be a member to attend.

“More than the number of people who attended the conference, what was important was the enthusiasm,” said National Wildlife Refuge System Chief Greg Siekaniec.  “We chose the theme, ‘Friends Unite!’, because it is the strength of a unified and informed Refuge Friends movement that will help ensure a future in which the National Wildlife Refuge System and the wildlife it protects will thrive.”

“Throughout the conference, Friends representatives showed not only an understanding of the Refuge System as it exists today, but also a vision for what it will become in the decades ahead,” said National Wildlife Refuge Association President Evan Hirsche. 

For more information about the Lostwood Birding and Nature Association or a membership application, email them at lostwoodbirding@live.com or drop a note to them at PO Box 253, Powers Lake, ND  58773.  To get further information on the Burke County Birding Festival go to www.burkecountynd.com or contact the Association at the address listed above.