Some Fun Facts About the National Wildlife Refuge System
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A quarterly newsletter for Volunteers and Friends of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and Patuxent Research Refuge FRIENDS OF PATUXENT Vol. 30 • No. 2 www.friendsofpatuxent.org April-May-June 2019 Some Fun Facts About the Friends Co-sponsor Open House for National Wildlife Refuge System Research Community By Brad Knudsen, Refuge Manager at Bee Lab ot off the press from the U S Fish and Wildlife Service’s By Rich Dolesh, Chair, Headquarters in Falls Church, Friends of Patuxent H th Virginia, and just in time for the 116 birthday of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) on March 14, 2019, every refuge has received copies of a beautiful new publication entitled “Ex- perience the National Wildlife Refuge System.” It is in an easy to read format, brimming with facts and gorgeous pho- tos of what the NWRS is all about. Let Trumpeter Swan me share some of what I find to be the most interesting information. the entire NWRS with a specific pur- pose of supporting wildlife research; atuxent’s whooping cranes may First, of course, it emphasizes – “The thus, it is the birthplace and current be gone, but with the return of mission of the NWRS is to administer home of the USGS’ Patuxent Wildlife Pthe Bee Conservation Lab to a national network of lands and waters Research Center. the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research for the conservation, management, Center, an entirely new opportunity for and where appropriate, restoration of The publication goes on to enumer- collaborative field research on bees the fish, wildlife and plant resources ate that the NWRS consists of 95 and pollinator/plant relationships is and their habitats within the United million land acres, 740 million sub- opening up at Patuxent. States for the benefit of present and Continued on page 2 Continued on page 9 future generations of Americans.” Each refuge has a specific purpose, supporting the broader mission state- Inside... ment. Many focus on protection of mi- Sustainable Campsite Management in Share Your Patuxent Experience ...............6 gratory bird habitat, the “bedrock” pur- Protected Arees ...................................3 pose of many refuges. Some are quite Spring 2019 in the Hollingsworth Gallery ... 7 specific, such as providing breeding Presidential Visits to Patuxent ...................4 Wildlife Images Bookstore - Make Every habitat for redhead ducks, an overwa- A Thwack in the Park ................................5 Day Earth Day ........................................ 8 ter nesting species, at Horicon NWR in Wisconsin. Others are very broad Photograph From the Patuxent Around the Refuge ...................................... 9 Research Refuge Wins First – “do good things for migratory birds.” Prize in Juried Exhibit ..........................6 The White Deer of Patuxent ...................... 10 Patuxent Research Refuge has the distinction of being the only refuge in Spring 2019 Vol. 30 | No. 2 Some Fun Facts About the a species on the Endangered Species lion hours of their time! At Patuxent, list at that time. we had over 200 volunteers contribute National Wildlife Refuge System over 22,000 hours. That is equivalent Continued from page 1 Annual outdoor recreation statistics in- to 11 staff years! Many bring expertise clude 55 million visits in 2018, with over that staff may not have – website con- merged lands and waters, with at 31 million involved in wildlife observa- struction, botanical expertise (includ- least one refuge in all 50 states and tion (including 10 million for wildlife ing fungi ID!!), hunting skills to impart five territories. There are a total of photography!), 2.6 million visits for en- on a new generation of hunters, etc. 567 NWRs, and 38 wetland manage- vironmental educational/interpretation Refuges honor and conserve the na- ment districts, the latter primarily in programs, 7.3 million fishing visits, and tion’s heritage by being custodians to the upper Midwest and Great Plains 2.4 million hunting visits. Over 220,000 4.5 million museum objects, preserv- Prairie Pothole “duck factory” of the of those visits occurred right here at ing 1,927 historic buildings, with 114 United States. If you think of a habi- Patuxent last year! Collectively, these properties listed on the National Reg- tat type – be it bottomland hardwood activities represent “the Big Six” wildlife- ister of Historic Properties. Petroglyphs forest, riverine/riparian corridors, salt dependent recreational uses specified at Pahranagat NWR in Nevada, arti- marshes, native prairie, boreal forest, in the Refuge Improvement Act of 1997, facts from the Civil War era from the tundra, tropical rain forest, coral reefs and are considered to be priority uses Steamboat Bertrand at De Soto NWR – the NWRS has it covered! of the NWRS, with each activity nurtur- ing a link to wildlife and wild places. along the Missouri River in Iowa/Ne- braska, archaeological remains from This tremendous diversity of habitat All those visits translate to $3 BILLION a slave settlement associated with the makes up the largest network of lands added to local economies and sup- Underground Railroad at Great Dismal anywhere in the world dedicated to port of 43,000 jobs in the private sec- Swamp NWR in Virginia, and more wildlife conservation. Eight hundred tor! Buying gas, groceries, bug spray, than two dozen historic lighthouses – bird species, 220 mammal species, maps, and outdoor supplies all add up including one at nearby Chincoteague 250 reptiles and amphibians, and to be critical components to some local NWR – are some of the more unique hundreds of invertebrate species call communities’ economy. Nature specta- historic items the NWRS protects. My refuge lands home. Nearly 70 refuges cles like spring and fall bird migration, personal favorite is the extent of dino- have been established for the specific the Chincoteague NWR pony roundup, saur fossils embedded in the Missouri purpose of preserving endangered elk bugling in the west, etc. all attract Breaks at Charles M. Russell NWR in species, such as Florida Panther nature lovers and their pocketbooks! Montana. While I was stationed there NWR in, well, Florida, and Karl Mundt in the late 1980’s, the most complete NWR, established in South Dakota in Over 40,000 people volunteered at fossil of a Tyrannosaur rex was found 1974 to protect wintering bald eagles, refuges in 2018, contributing 1.3 mil- on the refuge, including the first ever recovered intact forearm of the prehis- toric apex predator. Friends of Patuxent is published quarterly and can be read online or mailed to our Friends upon request. The NWRS is becoming more and Many of the regular newsletter contributors and assistants are volunteers. more involved in emergency response, However, we welcome and encourage all volunteers and Friends to submit items providing staff, equipment, and stag- for the newsletter by sending or bringing them to: ing areas for command posts for over 100 major incidents since 2006. This Editor, Friends of Patuxent Newsletter adds even greater value to local com- ATTN: Ross Feldner 11811 Ivanhoe Street munities impacted by flood, fire, and Wheaton, MD 20902 other natural disasters. Or email to [email protected] I could go on and on – fire manage- ment, law enforcement/resource pro- All articles submitted to the Friends of Patuxent Newsletter will be reviewed by tection, wilderness preservation all newsletter staff prior to their publication. We reserve the right to not publish submissions based on length, content or suitability. are key components of this vibrant network of wildlife havens. Article submission deadlines: Issue Issue Sooo – as the name of the publication No. Months Deadline No. Months Deadline suggests – come on out and “Experi- 1 Jan-Mar December 1 2 Apr-Jun March 1 ence the National Wildlife Refuge Sys- 3 Jul-Sept June 1 4 Oct-Dec September 1 tem.” There is literally something for To become a member of the Friends of Patuxent or send a donation, please see everyone who enjoys nature to take “Membership Application” on page 19. away when they visit a National Wild- life Refuge. See you soon! 2 Spring 2019 Vol. 30 | No. 2 Sustainable Campsite Management in Protected Areas: A study of long-term ecological changes on campsites in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota Jeff Marion, PhD; USGS Research Biologist rotected natural area managers seek to protect both natural con- 1982 2014 Pditions and high-quality opportu- nities for recreation visitation. Camping is an essential element of backcountry and wilderness recreation and over- night visitors spend a substantial por- tion of their time on campsites. Their behaviors determine the nature and ex- tent of resource impacts and the quality of their experiences can be affected by campsite conditions. This longitudinal Photo comparison of tree loss and groundcover changes over 32 years on a representative campsite. Arrow identifies the same rock. The one remaining tree is research assessed resource conditions severely damaged and dying. on 81 of more than 2000 campsites in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wil- Eagleston, Holly, and Jeffrey L. Mari- campsites in the Boundary Waters derness in 1982 and 2014 to examine on. 2017. Sustainable campsite man- Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota, long-term ecological changes. A com- agement in protected areas: A study USA. J. for Nature Conservation 37: prehensive array of physical, vegetative, of long-term ecological changes on 73-82. and soil indicators were measured to identify long-term trends over 32 years of continuous campsite use. Our find- ings reveal substantial changes in veg- The Friends of Patuxent Welcome Three New Board Members etative tree and ground cover, exposed By Rich Dolesh, Chair, Friends of Patuxent soil, and soil erosion on campsites. In particular, the ecology of campsites has he Friends are extremely pleased to announce the election of three been significantly altered by a large re- new board members to the board of directors: Marcia Watson, Lind- duction in number and cover of camp- Tsey Baker, and Cournye Koivisto.