Ways to 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 and fish and wildlife by doing what you love.
National wildlife refuges partner with volunteers, youth groups, landowners, neighbors, and residents 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 better for wildlife and people.
Youth: Explore paid and unpaid opportunities to learn and develop leadership skills.
Help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fulfill its mission of conserving, protecting, and enhancing America’s fish, wildlife and plants and the habitats on which they depend through volunteering and service projects.
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. Master 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. Check out our station's latest volunteer opportunities on volunteer.gov.
- Volunteers play a vital role in helping the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fulfill its mission of conserving, protecting, and enhancing America’s fish, wildlife and plants and the habitats on which they depend.
- From the start in 1903, the National Wildlife Refuge System owes its existence to concerned public that help protect America’s natural resources. We invite you to get involved and become a volunteer.
- As a volunteer, you can share your knowledge of the Refuge and natural history with students and the general public; get hands-on experience with our wildlife monitoring teams; or share your maintenance talents and skills. A variety of opportunities are available in visitor services, natural resource management, community outreach, habitat projects, maintenance, trail monitors, and service projects.
- Contact the Volunteer Coordinator at klopez@ffrwr.org or call 303-289-0930 for more information.
Volunteer Opportunities
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 the Front Range Wildlife Refuges
The Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges is a non-profit membership community that supports the two largest national wildlife refuges in the Denver metro area – the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Through active volunteering and fundraising, the Friends Group supports Refuge programs, volunteers, environmental education for kids, and habitat restoration among many other projects. Visit the Friends Group website at www.ffrwr.org for more information, how you can help, or how to become a member.
Generation Wild Northeast Metro Coalition
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is a proud member of the Generation Wild Northeast Metro Coalition. Twelve diverse partners work together in communities close to the Refuge to increase exposure to outdoor programs and career opportunities. The vision is that every young person – wherever they live and regardless of resources – has abundant opportunities to connect and engage with the outdoors in ways that are inspirational, transformational, and meaningful to them and will cultivate a new generation of stewards of nature.
Education Programs
Open the door to a potentially life-changing experience. If you take part in 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.
Youth Employment Opportunities
The Refuge provides employment opportunities for youth in the surrounding communities by working with Groundwork Denver and the Mile High Youth Corps in habitat restoration, trail work and maintenance projects throughout the complex. If you have youth who are interested in the field of conservation as a career, our summer employment programs provide them with the practical skills they will need to succeed along with educational opportunities where they learn from professionals. Please contact Groundwork Denver and Mile High Youth Corps for details and openings.
The Refuge works with American Conservation Experience (ACE) to provide paid internships in Habitat Management and Visitor Services. Our goal is to hire youth from the local community, which helps us to continue to build partnerships within our communities. Upon completion of each internship, youth earn Public Land Corps Hiring Authority allowing them to compete for permanent positions across the country for two years. Please contact American Conservation Experience for details and openings.