Ways to Get Involved
From its start in 1903, the National Wildlife Refuge System has owed its very existence to concerned citizens eager to protect America's natural resources.
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 and fish and wildlife 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.
Volunteers: Gain new experiences and meet new people while helping to advance wildlife conservation.
Friends: Join neighbors in helping refuges restore habitat and expand access to green space.
Landowners: Learn how you can partner with the Fish and Wildlife Service to voluntarily restore land.
Local Groups: Find out how communities can work with refuges to make them better for wildlife and people.
Youth: Explore paid and unpaid opportunities to learn and develop leadership skills.
More than 200 non-profit Refuge Friends organizations support national wildlife refuges, whether they work with a single refuge, a refuge complex or an entire state. Friends members are crucial to conserving and protecting our nation’s wildlife and teaching millions of Americans that their actions today determine the conservation legacy of tomorrow.
More than 42,000 people volunteer their time and ideas each year to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Whether they work on the land, in a visitor center or with youth, they contribute to the conservation mission that reaches back more than a century. Become a volunteer or Refuge Friend to contribute your strength on behalf of America’s natural resources.
Volunteering
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.
The Partners Program boasts projects in all 52 counties of North Dakota, in cooperation with 2,753 farmers and ranchers, who themselves have donated over $0.6 million in direct payment and hands-on work to develop new habitat and to initiate conservation-oriented agricultural practices that benefit wildlife.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is committed to working with private landowners to conserve natural resources and maintain the economic viability of farming and ranching. To assist landowners in meeting this goal, the Service has programs that may interest you.
We provide cost share for grass seeding to be used for grazing or haying, cross fence and water development for grazing systems, boundary fence on expired CRP and cropland seeded to grass, along with many other types of projects. Funding is available on a first come, first served basis. The length of the agreement is a minimum of 10 years and you control the hunting access.
If you would like to discuss a particular type of project or if you are interested in learning more about our program, please give Dan Duchscherer a call at 701-768-2548 x 112.
Outreach
Wildlife observation, hiking, canoeing, fishing, hunting, and photography are all great examples of things kids can do at J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge. To help you get started, we have a variety of educational brochures and games to choose from at our Refuge office. We also have two "Connecting People with Nature - Let's Go Outside " backpacks that can be checked out to assist little explorers in their adventures. Each backpack includes a pair of binoculars, a bug jar, petri dishes, dip net, magnifying glass, thermometer/compass, weather window, butterfly net, fly eye kaleidoscope, forceps, field guides, writing tools, and an activity journal. The backpacks can be checked out by groups or individuals, but must be returned to the refuge office.
Education Programs
Open the door to a potentially life-changing experience. If you land a student internship, fellowship, or volunteer opportunity at a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge , fish hatchery, or other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service site, you’re bound to come away with new insights and excitement about conservation.
- American Conservation Experience (ACE) Interns: 2 to 4 ACE Interns are employed annually as Biological Technicians assisting with a variety of projects including facilities & infrastructure maintenance, invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species , biological program, and grounds maintenance. - Youth Conservation Corp (YCC) program: 1 to 3 YCC employees are hired annually to assist with facilities and grounds maintenance