Get Involved

Whether you want to further conservation, learn more about nature or share your love of the outdoors, you’ve come to the right place. National wildlife refuges provide many opportunities for you to help your community by doing what you love. National wildlife refuges partner with volunteers, youth groups, landowners, neighbors and residents of urban and coastal communities to make a lasting difference. Find out how you can help make American lands healthier and communities stronger while doing something personally satisfying.

Volunteering

Discover for yourself what tens of thousands of volunteers have learned: Volunteering for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fun and rewarding in many ways. Learn new skills, meet new friends and enjoy a sense of accomplishment from doing your part to further wildlife conservation for the pleasure of generations to follow.

Our team of dedicated volunteers contribute their talent, energy and passion to making the refuge a gem in the community. Volunteers are involved in all aspects of refuge operations from trail maintenance to helping with public events to introducing nature to students.

Our volunteer team welcomes you to join us! Youth under 18 may volunteer for certain positions given signed permission by their parents or guardians on the Volunteer Services Agreement form.

Potential Volunteer Opportunities:

Maintenance volunteers:

• Keep the trails in tip top shape
• Mow the lawn and plow snow
• Assist with various projects including carpentry, painting and sign posting

Biology volunteers:

• Assist with seed collection
• Tend wildflower gardens
• Collect data on different bird species, from monitoring bluebird houses to waterfowl surveys

Education and outreach volunteers:

• Promote the refuge in the community
• Assist at public events
• Educate school groups

Our Partners

Nature does not recognize human-made boundaries. In order to conserve our natural and cultural resources effectively, we must work with others to bridge these boundaries. Partnerships foster creative solutions to challenging situations and often the results are greater than the sum of the parts. Learn more about our local partners.

Friends of Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

The Friends of Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge fosters community understanding and appreciation of natural resources while supporting the refuge goals of conservation, restoration and education.

They are a volunteer, community-based organization dedicated to supporting the refuge by working toward a variety of goals, including:

• Working with the refuge to conserve natural areas and encourage conservation of water, land and wildlife
• Raising public awareness of the refuge and value of this natural heritage at the community, region, state and federal levels
• Forming partnerships with community-based environmental and civic organizations with a common goal of getting kids and families out into nature

They invite you to learn more about them by reading their brochure and following them on Facebook!