The National Wildlife Refuge Association and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will honor Roy W. Lowe, manager of the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex based in port, Oregon, in a ceremony later this week in Arlington, Va.
The Paul Kroegel Refuge Manager of the Year Award, which is named for the first manager of the first National Wildlife Refuge, recognizes the exceptional contributions that Lowe has made toward protecting and furthering the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Recipients, who often make use of scarce funds and limited resources to "get the job done," have demonstrated career-long commitment and dedication to the cause of wildlife conservation as well as the ability to effectively deal with partners and the public.
When Lowe, 51, arrived at the Oregon coast in 1985, there were four coastal refuges and he constituted the entire staff. Today, the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex boasts six refuges, a full-time staff of seven, four "friends groups," numerous partnerships, and a rich assemblage of fish and wildlife resources protected in perpetuity on 3,295 acres along 320 miles of Oregon coastline.
The rocks, islands and headlands protected by the Oregon Coast refuges provide habitat for 1.2 million nesting seabirds in addition to the majority of Oregon's seal and sea lion population. The tidal marshes provide essential rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids, and thousands of migrating shorebirds use tidal mudflats to rest and fuel up in the spring and fall. Rare and declining habitats such as sphagnum bog, forested wetland, and old-growth Sitka spruce forest are also protected within the refuges. Under Lowe's leadership, about 1,400 acres along the Oregon Coast have been added to the refuge system in the past 10 years.
Working with land conservancy groups, private landowners and Native American tribes, Lowe has facilitated the acquisition of the undeveloped headland at Crook Point on the south coast, Coquille Point in Bandon, the archaeologically significant Ni-les"tun Unit of Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, and the botanically rich Neskowin Marsh. At Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Lowe recently coordinated the purchase of the remaining tracts of land which will allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to proceed with an 87-acre tidal marsh restoration project to benefit juvenile salmonids.
At Bandon Marsh, Lowe's persistence recently resulted in acquisition of the final tracts needed to proceed with the largest tidal marsh restoration in the state. Impressed by Lowe's vision, several landowners have donated valuable and ecologically significant tracts of land to the coastal refuges.
Lowe has utilized partnerships to accomplish critical fish and wildlife data collection that would have been impossible if he relied on refuge resources alone. These include a partnership with the Siletz Tribe to collect fisheries data at Siletz Bay and Nestucca Bay refuges and collaboration with the Coquille Tribe and university archaeologists to identify and preserve cultural resources at Bandon Marsh.
Lowe is also dedicated to providing for the interests of refuge visitors, collaborating with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to provide wildlife viewing and interpretive facilities at several locations on the coast, including at Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge and State Scenic Viewpoint on the north coast and at Cape Arago State Park on the south coast.
The award will be presented at a ceremony on Thursday, March 17, to take place in conjunction with the 70th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, which runs March 16 through 19 in Arlington, Va.
# # #
About the Conservation Partners
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit organization established by Congress in 1984 and dedicated to the conservation of fish, wildlife and plants, and the habitat on which they depend. The Foundation creates partnerships between the public and private sectors to strategically invest in conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. The Foundation distributed 709 grants in 2004 and has leveraged more than $305 million in federal funds since its establishment, for a total of more than $918 million in on-the-ground conservation. For more information, visit www.nfwf.org.
A nonprofit established in 1975, the National Wildlife Refuge Association is the only organization dedicated exclusively to protecting, enhancing and expanding the National Wildlife Refuge System, lands and waters set aside by the American people to protect our countrys diverse wildlife heritage. Over the years we have worked to make the Refuge System stronger and better able to address the growing challenges of conserving wildlife in our country. By combining policy, grassroots development and public education objectives, the Refuge Association seeks to ensure our country continues to support a diverse spectrum of plants and wildlife well into the future. For more information, visit www.refugenet.org.
