Employees and volunteers working for the National Wildlife Refuge System were honored for their exceptional contributions to wildlife conservation last weekend in Washington, D.C., with awards from the National Wildlife Refuge Association and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The refuge system, which celebrated its 98th birthday on March 14, is the worlds largest system of lands and waters dedicated to wildlife conservation.
Three individuals and a community partnership group received awards at a March 17 ceremony during the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Washington, D.C. The National Wildlife Refuge Association annually sponsors awards for the Refuge Manager of the Year, Employee of the Year and Volunteer of the Year, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation joins the Refuge Association in sponsoring the Friends Group of the Year Award.
These awards are widely considered the most prestigious honors in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
"All too often the outstanding work of the men and women, employees, and volunteers of the National Wildlife Refuge System is overlooked or taken for granted," said Refuge Association board member Bill Ashe. "They make the system function, and function well. In a small way, the awards embody and symbolize the significant accomplishments of all refuge workers."
"As we move toward the National Wildlife Refuge Systems Centennial in 2003, we continue to recognize our employees and volunteers whose efforts will carry the system into its second century--and beyond," said acting Service Director Marshall Jones. "These winners represent just a few of these dedicated people."
Paul Kroegel Award for Refuge Manager of the Year
Al Trout received the Paul Kroegel Award for the Refuge Manager of the Year. Trout has been the manager of Utahs Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge since 1989, and since that time has helped the refuge re-emerge as habitat for a number of bird and mammal species after 6 years of flooding by the Great Salt Lake. From a rented office, and with no staff and little budget, Trout rallied hundreds of volunteers who raised $50,000 in cash, materials and services, and donated nearly 17,000 hours of labor to help rebuild and reopen the refuge.
In addition, Trout was instrumental in the establishment of the Friends of Bear River Refuge, which has helped construct boardwalks and overlooks on the refuge and recently committed to raising $1.5 million toward rebuilding the refuges education and administrative offices.
This award is named for Paul Kroegel, the first refuge manager who, beginning in 1903, used his own boat and shotgun to keep bird poachers away from Floridas Pelican Island, the first 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 .
Refuge Employee of the Year
The Refuge Employee of the Year award went to David Jamiel, who serves as the on-site ranger- in-charge at Two Ponds NWR, a subunit of Denvers Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR in Arvada, Colorado.
Jamiel established an environmental education program at Two Ponds, hosting or coordinating some 6,000 visits by school and scout groups. He also recruited 69 volunteers--including 51 students--to provide environmental education and interpretation at Two Ponds, a 72-acre urban refuge with no buildings or administrative facilities.
Volunteer of the Year
The Refuge Association named Harry Sanders, a volunteer at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR, as Volunteer of the Year. Sanders, who will "retire" from his volunteer work this year, has contributed hundreds of hours managing a native plant nursery at the refuge. The nursery, where Sanders cultivates some 12,000 plants of 250 different native species, plays a key role in the Services native habitat restoration activities in the San Francisco Bay area.
Sanders involved the local community in developing the nursery, enlisting the help of a number of nonprofit horticultural organizations that have contributed native plants or materials.
Refuge Friends Group of the Year
Friends of the Upper Mississippi River Refuges has been instrumental in securing funding and volunteer services for three refuges along the Mississippi River in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The groups four chapters have donated thousands of dollars in funding and volunteer hours, organizing activities such as tree and shrub plantings, an annual photography contest, and fishing activities for children and developmentally disabled adults.
The Friends of Upper Mississippi River Refuges have also served as strong advocates for the resources of the refuges and the National Wildlife Refuge System as a whole, contacting Congressional Members and other influential people and organizations on behalf of refuges. The groups activities led last year to Congressional funding for the Environmental Management Program, designed to improved the ecological health of the Upper Mississippi River.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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