U.S Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System

Inside July/August 2004 Vol 1, No 4

Historic Voyage through Hawaiian Islands, page 8 2,400-mile trip is first in centuries.

Focus on Fire Management, page 10-17 An in-depth look at this essential element of refuge management.

A Circle of Trees, page 19 Millennium Forest draws community together.

First Friends in Montana, page 22 Group looks forward to 500. Most of the Conservation in Action Summit work took place in “breakout sessions,” when participants delved deeply into issues of priority for the Refuge System. More than 250 participants attended the Summit May 24-27 at the National Conservation Training Center. (Ryan Hagerty/USFWS) Shared Priorities Emerge from Conservation in Action Summit Enthused about the Refuge System, “We had held extensive meetings with more than 250 participants at the teams of experts to draft white papers. We landmark Conservation in Action Summit had several Web chats and a focus group of May 24-27 made major strides in 35 highly-experienced refuge managers to identifying a set of shared priorities to help refine the white papers,” he continued. guide the Refuge System for the next five “The Summit’s breakout sessions and (Ana Fuentes/USFWS) to 15 years. polling provided a wealth of insights about the challenges facing the Refuge System.” Coming from 38 states and representing a Born on a Refuge wide spectrum of backgrounds, the Among preliminary results from the 1 participants in 3 ⁄2 days debated and Summit were: Hopper Mountain Refuge, CA, was discussed ideas, strategies and action O established in 1974 to protect the items that had been formulated in the 10 The need for a more systematic California condor. Two other refuges – months leading up to the first-ever approach to bird conservation, Blue Ridge in 1982 and Bitter Creek Summit. Their final votes on priorities including identifying species of special Refuge in 1985 – joined Hopper continued the vision embodied in concern. Mountain to create a refuge complex Fulfilling the Promise. O The importance of endangered species for the same purpose. “Before the Summit, we had the benefit of work, with emphasis on refuge The population of condors dropped to so much input, including an extensive activities that integrate with the just 22 birds in 1983, its lowest level survey of Fish and Wildlife Service broader work of the USFWS and ever. In 1992, the first captive reared employees and conservation partners,” other conservation organizations. birds were released through Hopper noted Jim Kurth, deputy chief of the O The need to deal with invasive species Mountain Refuge Complex. Refuge System and a member of the along with vexing issues associated with Today, 244 condors soar in the wild, 99 three-person Summit Executive water quality and quantity on refuges. of which were bred in captivity. Committee. continued pg 6 From the Director A Salute to Fire Management

Wildland fire enhanced our ability to protect Council, the National Association of management has communities and the environment from Counties and the Federal Emergency been commanding unwanted fires. Management Agency. We need to more national attention in recent years, continue in this vein, collaborating with and with good reason. As development But the Service’s current involvement in state and local stakeholders in the continues to expand into rural areas and the fire management is not new. Refuges Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) as our forests and lands become more have long been leaders in using program, for example. Treatment of non- fragmented, wildland fire management is prescribed fires to restore and maintain WUI lands is also critical to conserve fish becoming an ever more important tool in wildlife habitat, long before others and wildlife habitats and to manage protecting habitat for both people understood or accepted the value of Refuge System lands. and wildlife. prescribed burns. We can be proud of our record of achievement and expertise Our federal, state and local partners The Fish and Wildlife Service has focused when it comes to using fire as a resource depend on us to share our fire-qualified on both the escalating costs of fire management tool. personnel, as we depend on them. That is suppression and the negative impacts of why timely mobilization of resources is intense, fast-moving wildfires that As fire management becomes more critical to effectively managing fires and recognize only natural forces – not complex, we are reaching out to their related costs. management or jurisdictional boundaries. collaborate with states and nontraditional As an agency, we are fully involved with a partners and groups. To that end, I’ve This issue of Refuge Update offers great variety of wildland fire management been honored to serve on the Wildland insight into many aspects of fire partners. Initiatives such as the National Fire Leadership Council since 2002, management as well as salutes those who Fire Plan, and the Healthy Forest working with the directors of the Interior are on the front lines of fire management. Initiative, the 10-Year Comprehensive land management agencies, the Forest Strategy and Implementation Plan, and Service, the National Governors the Healthy Forest Restoration Act have Association, the National Association of — Steve Williams State Foresters, the Intertribal Timber

Chief’s Corner RefugeUpdate The Best Public Lands in the World Gale Norton Address editorial As we worked at the interpretive specialists, heavy- Secretary of the Interior inquiries to: Refuge Update end of the equipment operators and regional Steve Williams USFWS-NWRS Conservation in Action Summit to directors from the Fish and Wildlife Director – U.S. Fish and 4401 North Fairfax identify shared priorities, who voted Service participated. Wildlife Service Drive, Room 634C Arlington, VA was as important as what they William Hartwig The depth and breadth of the 22203-1610 voted for. Assistant Director – Phone: 703-358-1858 assemblage’s experience was National Wildlife Refuge Fax: 703-358-2517 During the Summit, more than 250 unsurpassed in the Refuge System’s System E-mail: people engaged in rich, collegial, open history. Never before have we Dick Cole [email protected] conversations – formally and informally gathered so many people representing Publisher – to set priorities for the Refuge such varied interests and perspectives. This newsletter is System. We had participants from 38 Martha Nudel published on recycled paper using soy-based states, representing a wide spectrum of Opinions abounded. That’s just what Editor in Chief made the Summit such a success. ink backgrounds. Twenty-three refuge Bill Ballou Friends groups were there, along with At the Summit’s conclusion, we asked Graphic Design Coordinator C numerous state agencies and dozens of all participants to vote on their top nonprofit conservation organizations. priorities in order to derive a set of Biologists, refuge managers, shared priorities continued pg 24

Pg 2 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 Public Can Comment on Bison Range Agreement The public may comment on a draft Flathead Reservation – National Bison which the agreement will be submitted to annual funding agreement negotiated by Range, Ninepipe Refuge, Pablo Refuge Congress for a 90-day review period the USFWS and the Confederated Salish and waterfowl production areas within before it is implemented. and Kootenai Tribes for the National Bison the reservation. Range Complex, MT, which would enable The Confederated Salish and Kootenai the tribes to perform some of the Service’s The draft agreement was negotiated Tribes are comprised of the Bitterroot activities during fiscal year 2005. The pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination Salish, the Pend d’Oreille, and the comment period closes Oct. 11. and Education Assistance Act. Under the Kootenai Tribes. The tribes occupy the Act, qualified Indian Tribes may request to 1.3 million acre Flathead Reservation in Activities covered by the draft agreement perform activities administered by the northwestern Montana. include the following categories: biological Department of the Interior that are of program; fire program; maintenance geographic, historic or cultural significance Prior to current negotiations regarding the program; and visitor services. to the requesting tribe. National Bison Range Complex, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes The USFWS will maintain ownership of The draft agreement is available at have assumed management of many and management authority over all lands http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/cskt-fws- activities previously provided by the and buildings at the Bison Range. negotiation or by contacting the Bison federal government on the Flathead Range, 406-644-2211. Reservation. The activities include Tribal The National Bison Range Complex Health and Human Services; the Tribal consists of the National Bison Range, Comments may be submitted via e-mail at Wildlife Management Program; and Swan Lake, Lost Trail, Pablo and Ninepipe [email protected], or in Mission Valley Power. refuges, and the Northwest Montana writing to the Bison Range, 132 Bison Wetland Management District. Range Rd., Moeise, MT, 59824. During the public comment period, an open house(s) Established in 1908 to conserve the may be held. A notice for the open house American Bison, the Bison Range and will appear in local newspapers. ancillary properties provide important habitat for a variety of species such as elk, Following the public comment period and pronghorn antelope and migratory birds. any subsequent revisions to the draft The draft agreement applies only to those agreement, the final agreement will be units that lie within the boundaries of the signed by the Service and the CSKT, after

Agreement Reached with Tribal Consortium at Yukon Flats Refuge The product of nearly two years of negotiations, an agreement between the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments and the USFWS enables the Council to perform some of the Service’s work on Yukon Flats NWR, AK, in fiscal years 2004-05. The agreement runs through July 31, 2005. Under the agreement, the Council, a consortium of 10 Indian Tribes of the Yukon Flats, would: O Locate and mark public easements Beaver Creek, a nationally designated Wild River, flows into Yukon Flats NWR, AK, from the across private lands within the mountains in the south. An agreement between the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments and the refuge boundary; USFWS enables the Council to perform some of the Service’s work on the refuge during fiscal year 2005. continued pg 9 (David Spencer/USFWS)

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 3 Chase Lake Refuge Probes Pelican Exodus Biologists are trying to determine why Although biologists found a few sick and thousands of white pelicans disappeared dead pelicans, preliminary tests did not from nesting sites at Chase Lake NWR, indicate the presence of any toxins or ND, and where they went. diseases. Additional testing of pelican eggs, chicks, blood samples and adults is The USFWS, which first noticed signs of continuing at the National Wildlife Health nest abandonment May 25, continued to Center in Madison, WI. make daily inspections. By June 2, the entire nesting colony on two of the three The probe has not ruled out harassment nesting sites had abandoned all their nests by either animals or humans. Biologists and eggs. A flight over the surrounding found a coyote den relatively close to one area May 28 revealed little. nesting site. None of the other refuges or areas with nesting pelican colonies report A third nesting site had a typical number similar abandonment, unusual hikes in of birds, about 2,500 pelicans, until June pelican populations or abnormal 14, when biologists found that all nests mortality rates. and chicks had also been abandoned. The eggs remain, but the Chase Lake NWR pelicans “This situation has puzzled many wildlife are still missing. Biologists are trying to find out The 4,449-acre refuge is home to the professionals,” says Refuge Manager Mick why thousands of white pelicans disappeared from largest nesting colony of white pelicans in Erickson. “The Service is working closely their nesting sites at the North Dakota refuge. North America. A record number of (USFWS) with state and other federal agencies to pelicans, approximately 35,466, nested on determine exactly what occurred. At this the refuge in 2000. Approximately 29,494 point, we don’t have conclusive answers.” pelicans nested there in 2003.

Banking On Time; Shoring Up The Past Closed since 1942

historic building that served the community for 35 years. Restoration may begin this fall. Volunteers, the Refuge System, other public agencies and consultants are working to revitalize the crumbling bank, built in 1907 to serve the then-emerging communities of White Bluffs and Hanford. The bank closed in 1942, just a year before the communities were taken over by the federal government as feverish work began on the top-secret Manhattan Project, which developed atomic weapons Work may begin this fall to restore the crumbling wall of the First Bank of White Bluffs, built in 1907. for World War II. Scouts, students and other volunteers will mold more than 100 of the unusual E-shaped blocks as part of the restoration project. Volunteers and the staff of Hanford Reach National Monument, WA, hauled off old cedar The 195,000-acre Hanford Reach National roof shakes, disintegrated wall plaster and 60 years of bird guano as the first step in restoration. (Jenna Monument/Saddle Mountain NWR – the Gaston/USFWS) only national monument in USFWS holdings – was established by Presidential While restoration plans await approval shakes, disintegrated wall plaster and 60 Proclamation in June 2000. It protects a by the Washington State Historic years of bird guano scraped from the rich diversity of archaeological and Preservation Office, volunteers and the original tongue-and-groove floor boards of historical resources and the largest intact staff of Hanford Reach National the First Bank of White Bluffs, the first shrub-steppe habitat in the Columbia Monument, WA, hauled off old cedar roof step in the structural stabilization of a Basin. Although the bank building is on

Pg 4 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 Refuge Manager Competes at Summer Olympics Add the title “Olympian” next to John home,” said Magera. “I don’t think it’s Magera’s name. really sunk in yet that I am actually on the Olympic team.” Refuge Manager at Middle Mississippi River NWR, IL, Magera is on the U.S. Magera will join 2000 Olympic Silver Olympic Archery Team at the 2004 Medalist Vic Wunderle of Mason City, IL, Summer Olympics in Greece, little more and three-time Olympian Butch Johnson than a year after competing in his first of Woodstock, CT, on the men’s team. bow tournament. He was named to the John’s wife, Karin, a park ranger at Crab Olympics team June 19 after finishing Orchard NWR, IL, will travel to Athens third at the Olympic Archery to watch her husband compete. “We’re Team Trials. going to have a little cheering section for him,” she said. John Magera, refuge manager at Middle Mississippi The 11-day Olympics begin Aug. 13 in River NWR, IL, is on the U.S. Olympic Athens. Archery competition will be Magera competed in his first international Archery Team. held Aug. 15-21. competition July 13-17 at the European Grand Prix in He surprised himself and the established Antalya, Turkey. archery community when he finished third, beating world-ranked archers, including three former Olympians. “My only goal was to get into the top 16 and if I did that, I would’ve been completely happy going

Department of Energy (DOE) land Built in 1907 to serve the adjacent to the monument, the Refuge then-emerging communities of White Bluffs and Hanford, System coordinated the volunteer work the First Bank of White since USFWS manages the monument Bluffs closed in 1942, just a land cooperatively with DOE and is year before the communities concerned about adjoining resources. were taken over by the federal government as feverish work The only remaining structure that marks began on the top-secret the historic town of White Bluffs, the Manhattan Project. This historic photo shows the bank remains a featured stop on the bank’s architectural design, annual pilgrimage of the descendents of rather typical of small town White Bluffs/Hanford pioneers. banks in that era. Abandoned after it closed, the building (Department of Energy suffered from years of neglect, including Archives) use for target practice. Monument Cultural Resource Manager Concrete blocks were by scouts, students and other volunteers Jenna Gaston brought together a coalition salvaged from a partially collapsed wall. and used in the wall reconstruction. of local volunteers and partners, including A heavy tarp was specially designed for “We’re banking on community architects, contractors, county officials and the structure to avoid further damage. support to accomplish this much former White Bluffs residents, to help Local architects and concrete suppliers needed preservation,” Gaston save the building. have offered to donate materials and concluded. Future plans call for replacing a crumbling expertise to reconstruct the unusual wall. Since the building’s roof is gone, that E-shaped blocks used in the original needs to be replaced. The first steps in construction. More than 100 blocks, each restoration have already been taken. weighing about 30 pounds, will be molded

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 5 Chincoteague Recreation Planner Wins National Award Coalition in early June for her outstanding Chincoteague Refuge, encompassing more work to improve outdoor recreation than 14,000 acres of barrier islands, experiences and opportunities. including portions of Assateague Island, receives 1.4 million visitors annually. An employee of the USFWS since 1991, Tracy was recognized as a key member of Additionally, Tracy was honored for the team that planned and designed the running the largest public use program in refuge’s Herbert H. Bateman Region 5. Under her guidance, the quality Administrative and Educational Center, and quantity of environmental education which has already won several awards for and interpretive programming have its environmental design, including the greatly increased. She initiated such White House Closing the Circle innovations as roving interpretive patrols environmental award. that reach visitors on the trails. She has convinced local schools to use the refuge’s “Angie began the process of building an outdoor resources. Angela Tracy, with the USFWS since 1991, received interpretive and educational center the the Legends Award from the American Recreation day she arrived at the refuge,” said Tracy has been the refuge’s liaison with Coalition for her outstanding work to improve Refuge Manager John Schroer. “Her local businesses, the Chincoteague outdoor recreation experiences and opportunities. involvement has been very intense over Natural History Association, the She is supervisory outdoor recreation planner at Chincoteague NWR, VA. (USFWS) the last five years.” She was especially Commonwealth of Virginia, the Town of instrumental in guiding the design of Chincoteague and County of Accomack. innovative exhibits. The center’s state-of- Angela Tracy, supervisory outdoor the-art classroom will host tens of “Angie always maintains a high degree of recreation planner at Chincoteague NWR, thousands of students annually, perhaps professionalism, integrity, and optimism VA, since 1997, received the Legends as she meets each new challenge,” giving them their first glimpse of Award from the American Recreation wildlife conservation. concluded Schroer.

O Summit – from pg 1 A collaborative planning process with youth become tomorrow’s partners is needed in strategic growth conservationists. to translate conservation plans on the Interior Secretary Gale Norton O Recognition that the Refuge System was one of many officials who national, regional and local levels into addressed Conservation in habitat goals. can provide more quality wildlife- Action Summit participants. dependent recreation. Participants came from 38 O Wilderness stewardship, a topic not states and represented a wide identified during preliminary phases, “It will take some time to develop a spectrum of backgrounds. was deemed a priority. detailed strategy synthesizing the shared (Todd Harless/USFWS) priorities we identified,” Kurth concluded. O The need for scientific study and Participants saw a need for basic applied research for management “We sought to develop a strong shared inventories to document the extent of decisions. Participants sought a sense of priorities for the Refuge System the problems. national strategy for scientific during the Summit,” said Executive monitoring on refuges, including Committee Member Evan Hirsche, O Fire must continue to be used as a baseline inventories and more rigorous president of the National Wildlife Refuge tool for wildlife management and resource monitoring. They also Association. “Now we will work diligently fuels reduction. suggested that scientific findings be to sift through all the information we gathered and develop a set of concise O communicated in plain language to a Basic work is needed in marine priorities we all can share.” conservation to inventory and assess broader audience. resources and identify boundaries O Strong endorsement for development Executive Committee member Bob and threats. of a comprehensive environmental Byrne, of the Wildlife Management education program to help today’s Institute, indicated that full Summit results will be presented in the fall.

Pg 6 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 Around

O This spring was the best breeding the Refuge season for red wolves in North Carolina since the species was listed as endangered in March 1967. A record System 55 pups were born in 11 litters. Additionally, two females were born in captivity. The pups were transferred from a captive facility at Cape Romain O Region 6 biologists recently found NWR, SC, to join the wild red wolf that archaeological and historic data population in northeastern North were useful in reconstructing the Carolina. The two sister pups, lifeways of several species. These selected for their rare genes, were studies may serve as models for placed in separate dens with wild red similar studies by biologists who lack wolf pups of identical age. Captive-to- historic data for the species they wish wild fostering is coordinated by the to list, restore or protect. Historical USFWS Red Wolf Recovery Program writers have often recorded and the American Zoo and Aquarium information about past environmental Association’s Red Wolf Species conditions and animal distributions Survival Plan to integrate genetically when they wrote about scientific valuable captive-born pups into the investigations or other stories. wild red wolf population. More than USFWS biologists should contact 100 red wolves – the only wild red wolf Regional Cultural Resources staff population – roam 1.5 million acres in members for further information northeastern North Carolina. about using such information. O Blackwater NWR, MD, received an O Ed Britton, manager of the Savanna O A nest count of royal terns – including environment award April 21 from the District of the Upper Mississippi those on Fisherman Island NWR, VA, Shore Leadership Alumni Association River National Wildlife and Fish and Cape Romaine NWR, SC – was for protecting 26,000 acres of rare and Refuge, IL, received the Department conducted May-June in Maryland, pristine wildlife habitats. Six of the Interior Superior Service Virginia, North Carolina, South organizations and businesses received Award for his eight-year campaign to Carolina and Georgia as the first Annual Shore Leadership Award for transform some of the Savanna Army project of a working group of Excellence in Program and Service Depot into the Lost Mound Unit of biologists organized by the Eastern for their impact on Maryland’s the refuge. The former 13,062-acre Shore of Virginia NWR. States used Eastern Shore. The group recognized depot, used since 1917 to test cannons standardized methods for the nest the refuge as the “biological crescent as well as manufacture and store counts. The group is seeking better of the Eastern Shore.” The awards ammunition and other ordnance, was data in light of declining royal tern recognized issues addressed during officially closed March 2000. After populations in all four states. The the nine-month Shore Leadership eight years of intricate negotiations, group’s first meeting, held in Program for executives and upper the 9,715-acre Lost Mount Unit February, included biologists from the management of business, government became part of the refuge in governments of Maryland, Virginia and nonprofit and education September 2003. It contains the and North Carolina as well as The organizations across the Eastern largest tract of tallgrass prairie Nature Conservancy, University of Shore. The refuge is the largest remaining in Illinois, and several North Carolina, US Geological Survey tourist attraction in Dorchester thousand acres of Mississippi River and the USFWS. Researchers from County. It provides habitat for bottomlands – all critical to wildlife Clemson University and North threatened Delmarva fox squirrels and a number of rare, threatened, or Carolina Audubon also attended. The and bald eagles and about 35 percent endangered species. Britton began group will continue to delve into of the Atlantic Flyways waterfowl his career with the USFWS in 1977. issues concerning royal tern and shorebird population. He has worked at five refuges and conservation and management. For became manager of the Savanna more information, contact Pam District in 1995. Denmon, 757-331-2760.

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 7 Around the Refuge System O Five judges unanimously awarded “best of show” to Aurora Firth, a 17 year-old home-schooled student from Anchor Point, AK, at the Alaska Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design program. The judging was held April 2 at the administrative offices of Yukon Flats NWR, although the award was presented May 1 at the formal awards ceremony. The program, which drew 998 entries from 52 schools across the state, integrates art and science to teach youngsters the importance of wetlands and waterfowl conservation. Aurora, who year’s entries with an exquisite place award for her conservation message was also the Alaska Best of Show color pencil drawing of a Barrow’s during national competition with other winner in 2001 and 2003, topped this Goldeneye pair. She received a second state winners.

Hokule’a Voyages Through Hawaiian Islands NWR Historic trip links remote islands to public

education and environmental protocol shoals that compose the refuge. It also officer for “Navigating Change,” the challenged Hawaii’s residents to Polynesian Voyaging Society’s unique conserve the unspoiled condition of environmental and cultural mission. the refuge islands. The 2,400-mile, two-month voyage is the “It’s important that the people of Hawaii first time in centuries that a Polynesian understand the leeward islands,” said Bell. canoe cruised Hawaii’s most leeward “The refuge islands are part of their islands, which have been the Hawaiian history and environment.” Islands NWR since 1909. The Polynesian Voyaging Society navigated the replica Some of the World’s Most canoe by traditional, noninstrument Pristine Habitat seafaring techniques from Kauai to Kure Scientists describe the 10 refuge islands Atoll and back, following the traditional and the surrounding reefs as some of the Hokule’a arrived at Midway Atoll NWR, HI, June 9 route of ancient Hawaiians. most pristine habitats on earth, home to after completing an 18-day trip that took the millions of seabirds and thousands of sea Polynesian voyaging canoe and its crew 1,200 miles More than 60 classrooms and about 1,600 turtles as well as pupping habitat for from Kauai to the far end of the Hawaiian Islands NWR. (Tim Bodeen/USFWS) students in Hawaii, Louisiana and Hawaiian monk seals. The reefs are American Samoa were linked to the vessel essential habitat for sharks and countless by daily satellite telephone calls. Teachers indigenous and endemic species. Many By Susan Saul used a curriculum guide, video and Web refuge species exist nowhere else. site to prepare the students for the calls. When the twin-hulled canoe Hokule’a Hokule’a stopped at each of the islands sailed out of Hanalei Bay on the Island of “Navigating Change” brought public and atolls. The USFWS allowed the crew Kauai, HI, May 23, Outdoor Recreation attention to the biological wonders of the to go ashore at Tern and Laysan islands Planner Ann Bell from the USFWS rarely seen ecosystem of coral reefs, atolls, and Midway and Kure atolls. Honolulu office was onboard, acting as the small islands, seamounts, banks and

Pg 8 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 Agreement Reached – from pg 3 O Assist with environmental education consortia of tribes may request to perform “Yukon Flats Refuge has a long history of and outreach in local villages; activities administered by the Department working cooperatively with the native O of the Interior that are of geographic, people of the region,” noted Interior Monitor subsistence wildlife harvest; historic or cultural significance to the tribe Secretary Gale Norton upon signing of the O Survey moose populations (in making the request. agreement. “Refuge staff have great respect for tribal members’ knowledge of cooperation with the Alaska “The Service views this annual funding Department of Fish and Game); and the area and for their desire to protect its agreement as a mechanism to engage local wild resources for future generations of all O Maintain federal property in and residents in refuge management activities, Americans – a goal which reflects the around Ft. Yukon. increase the efficiency of refuge programs mission of the National Wildlife Refuge and foster a closer relationship between System.” Management authority for the refuge will refuge staff and local residents,” said remain with the USFWS, as required by Refuge Manager Ted Heuer. the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act. Congress’ 90-day The agreement – the first of its kind in the review of the agreement ended Aug. 3. USFWS – was modified after a 60-day public comment period that included Under provision of the Indian Self- public meetings in Anchorage and Determination and Education Assistance Fairbanks in March. Act, qualifying Indian tribes and

At Laysan Island, the crew helped haul In addition to its classroom outreach, O University of Hawaii — away hundreds of pounds of washed-up Hokule’a brought its stewardship message www.hawaiianatolls.org nets and ropes that could have entangled to Hawaii residents via daily newspaper endangered monk seals and sea turtles. and television coverage. A reporter from Susan Saul works in External Affairs in the Pacific They planted native vegetation from the one of Honolulu’s daily newspapers was a Regional Office as an outreach specialist for refuges. USFWS’ nursery on the island, and helped crew member. A videographer traveled collect native sedge makaloa for onboard for a few days to get footage for transplanting to Midway Atoll, where television stations. refuge managers hope to restore a wetland. “Navigating Change” partners included Laysan is a prime example of environmental the USFWS, Polynesian Voyaging degradation and restoration. A century ago, Society, Bishop Museum, NOAA, State of guano miners, feather poachers and an ill- Hawaii, Hawaii Maritime Center, conceived rabbit-canning business converted University of Hawaii, Coastal Zone the tropical forest of flowering plants and Management Hawaii and the National sandalwood trees to a desert. When the Fish and Wildlife Foundation. canning business failed, the rabbits were released and ate nearly all the vegetation. For more information about the voyage, Endemic land birds became extinct. go to: O The USFWS is restoring the island. The Other Hawaii — “Laysan shows what can be done to http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ restore the environments of the main specials/hokulea/ Hawaiian islands,” Bell said. O Polynesian Voyaging Society — Hokule’a sailed to Kure Atoll, the end of Ann Bell, outdoor recreation planner in the www.pvs-hawaii.org the Hawaiian Archipelago, before Pacific Islands External Affairs Office, took a returning to Midway Atoll NWR on June turn on the sweep of the replica Polynesian 9. There, the outbound crew was replaced O voyaging canoe Hokule’a during its recent 18-day Navigating Change — trip through the Hawaiian Islands NWR. Keoni by another, who took the canoe on a non- www.navigatingchange.org Kuhoa, cultural specialist on the crew, helped Ann stop trip back to Kauai. keep the canoe on course.

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 9 FOCUS . . .On Fire Management Keeping Fire on Our Side By Phil Street St. Marks NWR, FL, ignited the first documented prescribed burn in 1927. Like wildlife, wildfire Even during the 1930s and 1940s, when has always been part fire suppression took hold on other and parcel of biological federal lands, refuge managers quietly systems. continued burning. Without fire periodically The results of our long history of revitalizing the landscape, prescribed fire use are evident today. there could be no native Among federal lands, refuges are in the tallgrass prairie, best overall shape and ensure the safest wetlands, regenerating conditions for both firefighters and lodgepole or jackpine the public. forests. The majority of Service-managed But as pioneers in allowing fire to play a lands depend on fire to natural role in ecosystems, the USFWS restore and maintain also took on the risks of managing this ecological health. powerful tool. The late 1970s marked a turning point in this effort. The inability Ed Hirales, regional telecommunications Fire is a critical tool to of refuge managers to contain a lightning specialist, at right, worked with partner Dave managing ecosystems. It recycles vital fire in the wilderness on Seney NWR, MI, Daniels of the Bureau of Land Management nutrients, stimulates growth, and provides in 1976 acted as a wake-up call and to monitor ignition of a prescribed fire quality habitat for a variety of species. February 4 on Imperial NWR, AZ. pointed to the need to hire more skilled Regular fires, part of nature’s design, (Christopher Wilcox/ USFWS) and dedicated fire managers. check the risk of catastrophic fire by clearing underbrush and reducing dead In 1978, USFWS established a formal fire vegetation. Periodic fire also makes management program and, a year later, wildfires easier for firefighters to control. headquartered it at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID, Fire management has long been part of with other agencies managing wildland the Refuge System. Staff at what became

Reclaiming the Rio Grande By Jesse Stanley The large-scale Bosque Fuels Reduction Study seeks to determine the best Bosque del Apache NWR, NM, was named methods for removing invasive species for the Native Americans who once camped from the Rio Grande Valley and restoring in the riverside forests along the majestic the native cottonwoods and willows. Salt Rio Grande River. Now, the “woods of the cedar is a major fire hazard along the Rio Apache” are under siege from salt cedar, Grande corridor; several major fires have also known as tamarisk, a small, invasive ignited in the area in recent years. tree introduced from Asia early last century. So far, the ongoing project has eradicated Highly fire-adapted and flammable, the 343 acres of salt cedar through mechanical plant has taken hold of vast areas of the removal and burning. Some of the treated Southwest, becoming a severe fire hazard areas will be seeded with cottonwood, to human as well as biological black willow, and shrubs and other communities. The refuge is leading the understory plants to restore the fight against the invasion. native habitat.

Pg 10 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 fire. Interagency coordination, training, refuges, fire managers confront In addition, large refuges with wilderness qualifications and safety standards increasingly complex issues. The extreme areas commonly monitor naturally ignited were adopted. fire activity in 2000 led to the National fires, a practice known as wildland fire Fire Plan, which primarily seeks to reduce use. Last year, refuges in Alaska managed Then in 1979 and 1981, three Service fire risk, especially in the wildland-urban more than 250,000 acres in this way, by far firefighters died in the line of duty — interface areas around federal lands. the cheapest fire management method. Richard S. Bolt at Okefenokee NWR, GA and Beau Sauselein and Scott Maness at While fire suppression provides The fire program is dedicated to carrying Merritt Island NWR, FL. These tragic immediate protection during an unwanted out Service and Refuge System missions losses strengthened the agency’s wildfire, prescribed fires reduce through the traditional use of fire, while commitment to professionalize the accumulated vegetation known as giving better protection to nearby fire program. “hazardous fuels.” Such fires can also communities through active fuels improve wildlife habitat and control management. To meet the increasing Over the last two decades, the fire pro- invasive plants, among other benefits. challenges of land stewardship, we must gram has grown dramatically in response More than 90 percent of hazardous fuels maintain high professional standards, to increasing needs. Today, about 600 fire reduction on refuges is accomplished continue to use the best available science, staff work throughout the Refuge System through prescribed fire. and strengthen partnerships to fulfill our as an integral part of interdisciplinary mission for the American people. staffs. More than 3,000 USFWS employ- “We consistently meet Interior ees are certified, or “red carded,” to Department goals for hazardous fuels For more information about fire management in support the fire program when needed, reduction, and we treat more acres than theUSFWS, go to fire.fws.gov. essential for cost-effective fire manage- the other agencies at less than half the ment on refuges. cost per acre,” said Refuge System Chief Phil Street is Chief, Branch of Fire Management Bill Hartwig. under the Division of Natural Resources. He is the All refuges with burnable vegetation are Fire Director for the USFWS and coordinates required to have Fire Management Plans, Each year, the USFWS manages more closely with fire directors from other federal agencies complementing Comprehensive prescribed burns than wildfires, burning a located at the National Interagency Fire Center in Conservation Plans. greater percentage of its lands than any Boise, ID. other federal agency. On average, the Improve Habitat, Cut Risk Service conducts prescribed burns on Faced with rapid growth of communities more than 300,000 acres annually. around refuges and the increase in urban

Other research plots are being cleared and management,” said Assistant Refuge flood-irrigated to see if the native species Manager Shaun Sanchez. will return without replanting. The Forest Service and the University of Revegetation has been completed on two New Mexico are assisting the refuge with plots. The results have been encouraging, ongoing monitoring to help refine future with salt cedar spread contained, with exist- treatments. Monitoring the treatments’ ing weed growth maintained at less than a effects on wildlife will continue for foot high, and grasslands regenerating in several years. Firefighters at Bosque del Apache NWR, NM, burn areas that have been cleared and burned piles of downed salt cedar as part of a project to The Forest Service Rocky Mountain restore the native habitat for tens of thousands of “This study will provide important Research Station, the US Geological wintering birds and mitigate the fire danger to information for developing strategies to Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, nearby communities. (USFWS) reduce salt cedar, including preparation New Mexico State Land Department, the techniques, burning parameter limits, Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, expected fire behavior, control problems, the City of Albuquerque and other local, Jesse Stanley is the outreach assistant for the Fire fire effects, and input for smoke state and federal partners are cooperating Management Branch. He was an intern provided in the project. through the Student Conservation Association

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 11 FOCUS . . .On Fire Management One Alaskan Village Reduces Risk of Wildland Fires By Jody DeMeyere In fact, Allakaket generally was at high risk from wildfires that could start on Assisted by the USFWS, Allakaket federal lands. The boreal forest of the residents in the summer of 2003 conducted Kanuti Refuge, which surrounds the a hazardous fuels reduction project in village, often experiences wildland fires. their remote Alaskan village south of the Indeed, more than a third of the 1.6 Brooks Range, illustrating just how local million-acre refuge has burned in the past communities can avoid harmful affects of 12 years. Over the years, many of the wildland fire by working cooperatively small fires around Allakaket have been with federal agencies. suppressed, leading to a greater Villagers created a fuel break between a accumulation of hazardous fuels around new housing development and the the village. adjacent forested wildlands of Kanuti Village Chief Pollack Simon led the fire NWR. The development, built on the crew, composed of a dozen village crest of a ridge east of the village, faced residents, in creating the fire break. The risk from wildland fire because it is crew worked with personnel from the surrounded by black spruce forest.

GOAL: A Partnership Forged by Fire By Shawn Gillette The Greater Okefenokee Association of Landowners (GOAL) – a partnership In late 1954, in the timber- among landowners whose properties rich region of southeastern border the swamp – was created in Georgia, several wildfires September 1994. GOAL represents a ignited inside Okefenokee diverse cross-section, from numerous NWR, GA, and quickly private landowners to commercial timber spread, destroying more companies, manufacturing companies, two than 90,000 acres of state forests and two federal agencies. commercial forest as well as many homes and GOAL members work as a team to businesses. Many jobs manage, protect and promote forests were lost as a result. resources in and around Okefenokee Swamp. GOAL is not a formal Yet, from the fire’s ashes partnership. Membership is voluntary. arose the first cooperation Yet, clearly, GOAL membership is in fire management among extremely beneficial. federal, state and local The Greater Okefenokee Association of resources in and around Four years before GOAL was Landowners (GOAL) – a partnership of Okefenokee Swamp. Steps were taken established, fire fighters from various private landowners, commercial timber that lessened the likelihood of another organizations battled the Shorts Fire in companies, manufacturing companies, two such devastating fire. That legacy of Okefenokee Refuge’s southwestern state forests and two federal agencies whose properties border the swamp – work as a cooperation still benefits southeastern reaches. The fire burned more than 20,000 team to manage, protect and promote forest Georgia/northeastern Florida. acres, but cost a staggering $10 million to resources in and around Okefenokee Swamp. manage. It also stretched thin staff and (USFWS) equipment. The fire demonstrated the

Pg 12 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 Kanuti Refuge and the US Bureau of federal agencies can work Land Management to mechanically treat together with rural villages of and burn piles of slash – dead and downed interior Alaska. debris remained from a logging operation or a previous fire — on 35 acres around “Secondly, the project gave the new houses. local people greater knowledge about how to keep wildland They removed low brush, thinned the fires from destroying their black spruce forest, trimmed the lower homes. The project employed limbs of the remaining spruce and local residents and allowed removed slash – all in an effort to reduce them to demonstrate their potential fire intensity and enable expertise. And finally, it was a firefighters to suppress unwanted great model for other rural wildland fires that could threaten the villages scattered across village. They created defensible space, a Alaska, many of which are at fire break, by removing and reducing risk from wildland fire,” hazardous fuels. concluded Patten. Allakaket, AK, generally was at high risk from wildfires that could start on federal lands, illustrated by this photo “This project was a success for a number Jody DeMeyere is a park ranger at from 1997, before the hazardous fuels reduction project of reasons,” said Sam Patten, Yukon Flats Kanuti NWR, AK. began. More than a third of the 1.6 million-acre refuge has NWR, AK, fire management officer. burned in the past 12 years. (USFWS) “First, it was a great example of how

need for more concerted and coordinated GOAL provides safety, communication, me is the sense of comradery and efforts by the affected federal and state rapid response, effective management and cooperation among the partners. We’re all agencies, landowners and businesses. cost effective firefighting. In 2002, three in this together.” separate fires, known as the Blackjack GOAL achieved that management Bay Complex Fire, began in the swamp. GOAL represents a rather unconventional objective. By working together, GOAL Two of the wildfires merged and approach to a common objective – partners better protect their interests threatened private property. Thanks to protecting the natural resources in and from the affects of wildfires and manage GOAL, coordination and communication around the Okefenokee Swamp. The their natural resources. Although GOAL’s among partners was excellent, resulting in voluntary collaboration among the origins can be traced to wildfire better overall management. The fires members is a winning combination that suppression, it represents more. burned more than 124,000 acres, but only allows everyone to feel rewarded by working together. The partners assist the refuge with cost $8 million to manage — an amazingly natural resource projects, such as red- low dollar-per-acre figure. No significant Thanks to this partnership, future cockaded woodpecker and black bear loss of habitat, structures or commercial generations will have an effective tool studies. They also work with refuge staff property occurred. Overall logistics unavailable in 1954. GOAL has progressed to establish cooperative burn zones ran smoothly. tremendously in just a short time, protect- around the swamp for prescribed fires. GOAL members receive state and federal ing the swamp and providing many bene- fits to the public, private and commercial A Unique Partnership training and logistical support. They reciprocate with resources and personnel. landowners and the communities that “There is no doubt, GOAL is a unique surround it. partnership,” said Gary Howell, Many, for example, have constructed silvicultural specialist for the Suwannee helicopter dip sites on their property for Shawn Gillette is a refuge ranger at Okefenokee Unit of International Paper and GOAL use in aerial suppression. NWR, GA. chair. “It’s not everyday you can find the “This partnership continues to be very type of cooperation that GOAL fosters successful with little or no problems,” said among its diverse members.” Okefenokee Refuge Manager Skippy Reeves. “The most significant benefit for

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 13 FOCUS . . .On Fire Management Burning to Protect People and Benefit Wildlife At Work in Wildland Urban Interface By George O’Shea whom have dwellings right next to the refuge’s thriving 8,000-acre swamp. Prime Hook NWR, DE, anxious to protect three More than 150 landowners partnered with adjacent beach the refuge in the program, launched in communities with more 2002, which used herbicides, prescribed than 750 homes, used $1.1 burning and mowing to remove the million from the Wildland accumulated dead canes that posed a fire Urban Interface (WUI) danger. The landowners permitted access program to create a across their land to enable the refuge to Phragmites free zone. control and eradicate Phragmites. The fire management project ridded 1,000 feet of Since 2002, Prime Hook Refuge has In 2003, more than 2000 acres of marsh were refuge land and roadways treated more than 4,000 acres of the burned at Prime Hook NWR, DE, to remove invasive species, Phragmites, on and off accumulated fuels within the refuge. In 2004, of the invasive common reed, which posed the refuge with the herbicide Rodeo. an additional 750 acres were burned. a fire hazard. (USFWS) The herbicide was applied in the fall by The three-year initiative reduced the fire both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft risk for private landowners, some of and by hand in the fall from tracked marsh vehicles.

Wildfire in Wilderness: Good for Wildlife By Karen Miranda Gleason Using MIST, hand and engine crews limit- ed their efforts to protecting homes and When Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT, staff other buildings. A modified skidder in lieu helped fight a small lightning-caused fire of a bulldozer provided a lower-impact that started on nearby private land means to build fireline, which was only con- August 2003, they never expected the fire structed where needed to protect human to spread onto the pristine wilderness life or property. Managers monitored the refuge. Luckily for the wildlife, it did. fire’s progress in other, unpopulated This remote wilderness, one of the most areas where steep terrain limited effective beautiful refuges in the Refuge System, firefighting. supports a great diversity of fire- Single engine air tankers dropped fire dependent wildlife habitats. retardant, and light helicopters carried During the fire, managers used minimal water buckets. impact suppression tactics (MIST) to The use of biodegradable fire retardant, avoid negative impacts from firefighting with ingredients similar to fertilizer, and on a largely untouched landscape. The water from local lakes and streams also techniques cause the least disturbance to helped minimize any impacts the soil, thus minimizing the spread of from firefighting. noxious weeds and preserving other wilderness values.

Pg 14 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 Prime Hook NWR, DE, launched its Wildland Urban Interface program in 2002 to remove the fire threat from 750 homes on adjacent land. The program used herbicides, prescribed burning and mowing to remove the accumulated dead canes that posed a fire danger. (USFWS)

Optimal control was achieved by spraying assistance and expertise for the burning stands of Walter’s wild millet and showy the same area two consecutive years. program. Staffs from Blackwater and marsh mallow, commonly called hibiscus. Refuge personnel use amphibious tracked Patuxent refuges in Maryland, the vehicles, “Marsh Masters,” to mow or Delaware Forest Service and the Milton “These plants, along with wild rice, nut crush 100-foot-wide firebreaks adjacent to and Lewes (DE) Fire Departments also sedge and the invertebrates associated the homes and roadways during the fall gave assistance to Prime Hook Refuge with these plants, provided excellent high and winter. That stopped the threat of staff. Follow-up herbicide and/or burning protein food for thousands of migrating wildfire from reaching the homes. Where continues this year. ducks, geese and shorebirds. The sight possible, the marsh was burned in March was glorious,” he concluded. “Not only did we prevent wildfires from and April as part of the refuge’s George O’Shea is the assistant manager at Prime prescribed burning program. touching our neighbors, but the program provided collateral benefit by increasing Hook NWR, DE. In 2003, more than 2000 acres of marsh and diversifying food resources for refuge were burned to remove accumulated fuels wildlife,” said Prime Hook Refuge within the refuge. In 2004, an additional Manager Jonathan Schafler. “Once the 750 acres were burned. Phragmites was removed, other plant species – whose seeds had lain dormant – The USFWS Zone Fire Management germinated and replaced the once Officer Timothy Craig and his crew from dominant reed. Last year, we had dense Great Dismal Swamp NWR, VA, provided

Join a Web Chat acres of the refuge in the rugged revitalize that ecosystem. We expect to Centennial Valley, enhancing conditions see good results for wildlife for a very for wildlife. Many types of beetles moved long time.” right into the burned snags, which imme- diately attracted woodpeckers and a range “Wildfire is an essential component of of other cavity-nesting birds, said Refuge wilderness systems,” said USFWS Biologist Jeff Warren. “We’re also seeing National Wilderness Coordinator Nancy lush growth this year of new forage for Roeper. Fire plays a leading role on moose, antelope, bear, elk, deer, wolves refuges with large wilderness tracts – like and a host of small mammals.” those on Red Rock Lakes and Charles M. Russell refuges in Montana, Seney Refuge About 500 acres of forested area experi- in Michigan, Okefenokee Refuge in enced its first intense “stand-replace- Georgia and Arctic and Yukon Delta ment” burn since the late 1800s. Such refuges in Alaska, among others. fires are critical for regenerating many forested ecosystems across the country, Karen Miranda Gleason is the outreach coordinator including the mixed conifer habitat in the for the Fire Management Branch at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID. Fire fighters placed protective cover on the refuge Rocky Mountains. manager’s house, which is located on Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT. A lightning-caused fire that “Historically, this type of high-intensity started on nearby private land in August 2003 fire occurs about once every 60-100 years spread onto the pristine wilderness refuge, benefiting in this forest. It was long overdue,” said wildlife in many ways. (USFWS) Gale Green, Region 6 fire ecologist. “This event was extremely beneficial to

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 15 FOCUS . . .On Fire Management Vegetation Monitoring Supports Refuge Fire Program By Jeanne Holler acres – about 5 percent of the uplands – remain. Many areas are in transition For more than 10 years, toward oak savanna as the refuge works staff at Sherburne NWR, to increase this acreage to 12,499, or 77 MN – following the percent – the long-range goal in the National Park Service’s Comprehensive Conservation Plan. fire monitoring protocol – has tracked long-term Restoring upland plant communities, changes in plant especially fire-dependent and globally communities to document imperiled oak savanna, is a management the effects of prescribed priority. Vegetation monitoring has fire on refuge habitats. been integral to the process. An Such monitoring has average of 111 staff days are devoted to helped guide fire monitoring annually. management decisions and Sherburne Refuge’s program to restore oak “Here at Sherburne we are dedicated to savanna has led to development of a increase staff knowledge of refuge plants comprehensive plant list and state-of-the-art and environmental conditions. restoring oak savanna by using prescribed refuge herbarium, discovery of new plant fire as the major tool,” says Refuge species and identification of infestations of Just 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis/St. Manager Anne Sittauer. “Just as non-native plants. (USFWS) Paul, the 30,600-acre refuge lies within important as the restoration is our Minnesota’s transition zone between commitment to monitor the fire behavior tallgrass prairie and deciduous forest. and its effects on vegetation.” Although 93 percent of refuge uplands historically were in oak savanna, just 732 The fire monitoring protocol documents changes in vegetation characteristics as

Fire Resurrects Oregon’s Prairies By Brian Gales and Susan Saul If there is one thing everyone associates with western Oregon, it’s the rain. Surprising, then, to consider that fire helped shaped the Willamette Valley landscape for possibly the past 10,000 years. Periodic burning by native peoples created wet prairies and oak savannas that supported abundant game animals Fire crews from Baskett Slough and William and edible plants. Fire improved seed L. Finley refuges in Oregon burned 455 acres production, reduced brush undergrowth last year, helping to resurrect the native and created optimum conditions for prairie. The prescribed burns also help hunting deer. prevent wildfires and lower the risk to nearby communities. (Jock Beall/USFWS) Today, more than 99 percent of the Willamette Valley’s 1 million acres of

Pg 16 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 Restoring upland plant communities, especially fire-dependent and globally imperiled oak savanna, is a management priority at Sherburne NWR, MN. Vegetation monitoring, which takes an average of 111 staff days each year, is integral to the process. Within a week after every prescribed burn, the effects of the fire, including scorch height and litter consumption, are measured. (USFWS)

the refuge works to restore natural document changes in the landscape to university provides training in collection communities, reduce unnatural fuel support conclusions drawn from the and herbarium techniques and helps buildups and reestablish the historical fire quantitative data. identify unknown plants. A sample of the regime in terms of size, frequency, plants collected goes into the J.F. Bell intensity and severity. Monitoring results will guide decisions Museum of Natural History herbarium at about future fire management, including the university. There are 107 permanent transects/plots whether to continue the same type of in the monitoring program: 28 in oak application. It also serves as an early “Our refuge has an effective long-term savanna, 29 in dry oak forest, and 50 in warning system for potential prescribed fire program largely due to the restored native grassland habitats. environmental problems that need to be excellent monitoring program,” says Vegetation characteristics were recorded addressed by research. Sittauer. “It allows us to show when the plots were established. Within a accomplishments, provide reasons for any week after every burn, the effects of the The program has led to development of a needed changes to management, and is a fire, including scorch height and litter comprehensive refuge plant list and state- definite measure of our success”. consumption, are measured. Vegetation of-the-art refuge herbarium; discovery of attributes are measured after one, two, new plant species and infestations of non- Jeanne Holler is a wildlife biologist at Sherburne five and 10 growing seasons. If the unit is native plants; and a partnership with the NWR, MN. re-burned within this timeframe, the University of Minnesota, launched in process starts again. Photographs 1997. As part of the partnership, the

native prairies are gone – destroyed by parsley, Willamette daisy and Nelson’s undoubtedly due to favorable weather more than 150 years of fire suppression, checkermallow. conditions, but habitat restoration has also concurrent with the spread of agriculture been a key factor.” and urban development. The oak savanna In the last few years, refuge managers is changing into oak woodland and have diligently imitated the cleansing The thinning and prescribed fires reduce Douglas fir forest. Much of the original effects of fire. Crews thin the oak and ash hazard fuels to prevent wildfires and prairie that did not fall to development trees. They cut the brush with mowers lower the risk to nearby homes, has been overgrown by introduced equipped with rubber treads to minimize agricultural lands and private woodlands. species, including Scotch broom, pear, and soil compaction and disturbance. The Interagency cooperation and support Himalayan blackberry, as well as native thinning increased sunlight, benefiting during the burning operations comes from shrubs and trees, such as poison oak, black prairie plants and butterflies alike. the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of hawthorn and Oregon white oak seedlings. Prescribed burning has also helped Land Management, the Oregon resurrect the native prairie. Refuge fire Department of Forestry and the Monroe Major representations of the remaining crews burned 455 acres last year. Rural Fire District. fragments of Oregon’s original landscape are located on two Willamette Valley In 2003, the Fender’s blue butterfly Brian Gales is the fire management officer for the national wildlife refuges: Baskett Slough reached its highest population in 10 years, Willamette Valley Refuge Complex; Susan Saul and William L. Finley. These remnants a 64 percent increase above the 2002 works in External Affairs in the Pacific Regional are important habitat for federally-listed count. “We’re hoping in the next few years Office as outreach specialist for refuges. species, including Fender’s blue butterfly, we can see the local butterfly population Kincaid’s lupine, Bradshaw’s desert go through the roof,” said Jock Beall, refuge biologist. “Some of the upswing is

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 17 Cahaba Refuge Formally Dedicated USFWS Refuge Supervisor Ricky restore 185 acres of longleaf pine at the Ingram joined Jeff Danter, executive refuge. The program, begun in August “This refuge could not director of The Nature Conservancy 2003, is a partnership among the National have come about without (TNC) of Alabama, Alabama Senators Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions and Southern Company and its operating the hard work of a great Representative Spencer Bachus May 2 companies, which include Alabama Power. in formally dedicating Cahaba River many people.” NWR, AL. “The longleaf pine community used to stretch across the Southeast, from The refuge was established in September Virginia to Texas. Today, only a small 2002 through a partnership between The fraction remains,” said Willard Bowers, Nature Conservancy of Alabama and the vice president of Environmental Affairs USFWS to preserve a unique segment of for Alabama Power. “We and Southern the biologically significant Cahaba River Company are proud to play a role in and protect a number of threatened and helping to rebuild this diverse habitat.” endangered species. The Cahaba River stretches for almost “This refuge could not have come about 200 miles and is Alabama’s longest free- without the hard work of a great many flowing stream. The river supports 64 rare people,” noted Ingram. and imperiled plant and animal species, 13 of which are found nowhere else. At the ceremony, TNC received a grant under the Longleaf Legacy Program to The refuge was authorized by Congress on October 19, 2000, through legislation sponsored by Rep. Bachus and then Congressman (now Governor) Bob Riley. The refuge, established with 1,200 acres, has since expanded to 2,997 acres, almost 90 percent of the land that is in the approved acquisition boundary.

The Nature Conservancy helped acquire all the land and has been working with many partners to create habitat manage- ment and public use plans.

Cahaba River NWR, AL, was established in September 2002 through a partnership between The Nature Conservancy of Alabama and the USFWS to preserve a unique segment of the biologically significant Cahaba River. (USFWS)

Pg 18 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 Marking the Millennium with Circles of Trees Pocosin Lakes NWR Grew with Community Involvement By David Kitts and Susan J. Russo In the spring of 2000, at the dawn of the vernal equinox, 25 people from Tyrrell County, NC, gathered around a bonfire on a farm field at Pocosin Lakes NWR, drawn together by their dream of the Millennium Forest designated for the site. Together, they expressed what the nine-acre Atlantic white cedar forest would mean to them and what it could bring to the community. Later that day, Tyrrell County Elementary School students each planted a tree and beneath it placed a clay marker bearing their name or that of someone close to them. The clay markers can last 1,000 years. The forest of native Junipers, as the trees are called in this part of the country, Maggie Hill and Justin McClees of Columbia High School planted some of the last trees that are part of the Millennium Forest at Pocosin Lakes NWR, NC. More than 600 volunteers, including students, planted the may grow forever on the field being trees during the project’s four-year development. (Susan Russo/USFWS) restored to forested wetland.

The planting of the Millennium Forest North Carolina State University, had been center would convey spiritual reflection, was completed April 7, with help from instrumental in studying whether the solitude and tranquility. more than 600 volunteers. The project refuge’s soils, altered by years of farming, has touched many in a community that could support restoration of the key plant Today, the 7,000 trees in the Millennium long boasted of its cultural diversity and species that once thrived on the refuge. Forest, all donated by North Carolina natural resources, but felt threatened State University, are at various stages of in 1994 by a proposed hazardous During this time, Pocosin Arts Founder growth. Some are just six inches tall. In waste incinerator. Feather Phillips, previously an art 10 years, when the trees are vibrant in the teacher in neighboring Washington nine-acre parcel, the circle pattern will Although no incinerator was built, the County, was vitally interested in melding become more visible. The forest is closed proposal can be credited with motivating her art, the environment and her interest to the public until the trees grow stronger. neighbors to secure and enhance the in youth. Inspired by artist Joseph The refuge hopes to provide public access natural treasures that make the Beuys, who proposed the planting of 7,000 in about five years. community so special, said Jim Savery, trees in Kassel, Germany, as a social refuge manager when the forest project action project, Phillips proposed the “Not only will the forest always be got off the ground. forest project, originally called, “7,000 protected,” noted Refuge Manager Junipers: An Art Action for the Howard Phillips, “but it is a contribution Students from the University of North to future generations. The project has Carolina, North Carolina State University Millennium.” The refuge provided the ideal location for the forest and eagerly created tremendous links within and Tyrrell County Elementary School the community.” helped plant the forest, as did volunteers joined the partnership to establish the from the Pocosin Arts. Some volunteers Millennium Forest. The project was featured at the 2004 drove more than 100 miles for the chance In 2001, Phillips enlisted the help of Carl Smithsonian Folklife Festival in to plant some of the trees. Twarog and Eva Roberts, teachers from Washington, DC, this summer. Studying native Atlantic cedar East Carolina University’s School of Art, David Kitts is Pocosin Lakes NWR, NC, Since 1992, several experimental plantings who created the concentric circle design assistant manager. Susan J. Russo is the of the native Atlantic white cedar forest that makes the forest so unusual. The refuge interpretive ranger. had been completed. Dr. Eric Hinesley, of artists envisioned a tree cathedral whose

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 19 The Day I Spoke to the President By Ward Feurt I was talking to George Bush just We sent a list of potential attendees – with yesterday while shaking his hand. the required social security numbers and Admittedly, land acquisition didn’t dates of birth – to the White House, along come up, but I did emphasize the US with information on where to send our Fish and Wildlife, Rachel Carson photos with the President. Wells Reserve Refuge, and partnerships. Manager Paul Dest spent more than a week working with the White House advance That’s how I opened a message I sent party, the Secret Service, the White House April 23, a day after the President made a planning group and hundreds of local people. wetlands policy speech at the Wells (ME) National Estuarine Research Reserve, The final event bore only some next door to Rachel Carson NWR. A resemblance to earlier plans. Every presidential visit is a happening unto plan changed at least once. its own. Ward Feurt got a firsthand look at the pacing and As of April 19, the visit appeared certain. coordination of a Presidential visit when George W. We first heard on April 12 that President USFWS External Affairs called to notify Bush came to call at the Wells National Estuarine Bush was coming for a wetlands field us that, “There is no nice way to tell you Research Reserve, ME. (USFWS) trip, suggested by the Council on this, but if anyone is going meet the Environmental Quality. That started President, it will be the Regional the whirl of rumors, suggestions, hopes Director.” Although I was somewhat and facts that accelerated, reversed, disappointed, I totally understood: My job bubbled and never stopped until the is to manage the Rachel Carson Refuge. President arrived. His job is to be the Service’s administrator

Muscatatuck Friends Group Gives Gift of Learning Center Dedicated after Eight Years The Muscatatuck Conservation tirelessly to acquire grants, raise funds, “This is a gift that will Learning Center was dedicated May 8, plan and build the facility. The Nina eight years after Muscatatuck (IN) Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust reach across generations Wildlife Society teamed with the wildlife contributed $150,000 while the Efroymson to bring the message of refuge to build a state-of-the-art learning Fund of Central Indiana Community center and established a nonprofit Foundation contributed $25,000. conservation to Indiana foundation to raise $500,000 for construction. Indeed, the wildlife society, which had children and adults for never before secured a major foundation "This is a gift that will reach across grant, discovered that foundations want decades to come.” generations to bring the message of projects to be funded with locally-raised conservation to Indiana children and adults money before they are willing to provide for decades to come," said Muscatatuck their own share. Therefore, local Refuge Manager Lee Herzberger. fundraising became important for more than just the dollars donated. Having formed the non-profit Muscatatuck Wildlife Society Foundation Fundraising events ranged from a 5K run in 1997, the wildlife society was the held during National Wildlife Refuge driving force behind creation of the Week to the sale of 250 commemorative learning center. Members worked bricks. The wildlife society has so far sold

Pg 20 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 By 5 a.m. on April 22, refuge officers stepped out without ceremony and put his “Thank you for all the hard work you do,” secured our headquarters and closed the arm around his mother. Together, they he replied. Carson Trail. Our next-door neighbor, walked down the cart path towards the who walks the mile-long trail every day, water. “That’s Important Work” was barred from entry. She understood. I said that I worked for USFWS and at Brian briefed us: The White House press Rachel Carson Refuge. I can’t recall how Exhilarating, Amazing, Memorable corps would come back from the water I put those two statements together. That morning, I reached Regional first; we wanted to avoid them or they “That’s important work,” the Director Marvin Morarity as he drove up might trample us. We needed to stay a President acknowledged. the Maine Turnpike. The White House foot apart so the White House had not vetted him for this visit, so he told photographer would not get an adjoining The White House photographer took our them he would send me in his place. shoulder in the picture. After we met the picture. I had been told to look in the Marvin knew that, for me, it would be an President, we were to step down the cart direction the President looks to avoid one exhilarating, amazing and memorable path. You cannot bunch up around the of those inattentive shots. I was too event. He could not have been President. We should wait until the nervous to carry it off. more gracious. President clears the area to return to “You work with this guy over here?” our seats. Secret Service Agent Brian B. led us to President Bush asked, gesturing to Dest. the viewing area. The President’s time is I was at the front, so I knew the President “Yes, we work together all the time,” I so well coordinated that he shakes some would see my USFWS patch. As he was able to reply, betraying my hands as he walks in one direction and walked up the cart path and he saw us, he questionable presence of mind. others when he returns. loudly called, “How are you doing?” The refuge staff got great photos that day. The President’s entourage consisted of 13 “Ward Feurt. US Fish and Willdlife They sat in the front, in uniform, and were vehicles, sweeping up US Route 1 at Service,” I said, by way of introduction. in quite a few pictures themselves. 60 mph, past protesters. On site, he

$39,000 worth of bricks, although continuing sales will support conservation education programming. The bricks are on display in a center courtyard. Local architect David Correll designed the center, with suggestions from the foundation’s education committee, which included educators and youth group leaders. The center features a multipurpose room, exhibit space, woodland and marsh dioramas, nine Troy McCormick and Education Committee Chair Marty Winslow joined others on the Muscatatuck Wildlife interpretive panels and a wildlife kiosk. Society Foundation to raise $500,000 for construction of the Muscatatuck Conservation Learning Center, Two interactive exhibits highlight the dedicated eight years after the vision of a state-of-the-art center was first discussed. (Susan refuge and the Refuge System. Knowles/USFWS) The foundation’s education committee is developing hands-on learning "We expect the number of visits by concluded Foundation President Jim opportunities that fulfill state schools, youth groups and the public to Roberts. The refuge receives 185,000 academic standards. grow as word of the center spreads," visits annually.

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 21 First Friends Group Incorporated in Montana When Richard McKay moved from The path from concept to incorporation is Seattle, WA, to Stevensville, MT, in instructive for refuge supporters across January 1998, he wanted elbow room after the country. 30 years in business and a hustle-bustle urban life. The first step began with a mentor visit in August 2003, scheduled after the First, he encountered “migration mania,” a refuge sought to participate in the reported influx of urban dwellers seeking annual program. Kathy Woodward, a the wide-open spaces of Big Sky country. member of the Great Swamp NWR, NJ, Friends’ group, and Minnesota Valley Second, he discovered Lee Metcalf NWR, NWR Manager Rick Schultz “led an a 2,800-acre oasis nestled between the inspiring session,” noted Sue McDonald, Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains, then the refuge’s outdoor recreation The refuge is an excellent outdoor classroom, whose existence seemed a secret to including programs about raptors. Education and planner. McDonald is now at Imperial signage as top priorities for the Friends group, which the community. NWR, AZ. also lists advocacy and “developing the refuge as the “As I traveled around, I didn’t see people hub of conservation for the valley and surrounding Mentor Visit Was Key communities” among top issues. acknowledging what the refuge had to McDonald invited eager community (Sue McDonald/USFWS) offer,” said McKay, who, in December members to the mentor visit, including 2003, helped incorporate the first Friends Dale Burk, president of the Revalli group in Montana. Friends of Lee Metcalf County Fish and Wildlife Association, who NWR President McKay is working with was a personal friend of Sen. Lee Metcalf, its 10-member board to recruit 500 namesake of the refuge. She also invited members this year and expand the board Jim Rokosch, active in watershed issues, by six people. Currently, the group has George Wasser, a high school teacher who more than 100 members. is now the group’s vice president, and

On the Alaska Marine Highway A Naturalist Introduces Refuge to Thousands By Doug Stuart Chignik, Sand Point, King Cove, Cold Bay, introduce passengers to the world’s finest Akutan and False Pass. Each eight-day network of conservation lands. The Refuge System, for the 15th trip caters to a highly diverse list of consecutive year, is introducing thousands passengers that includes Americans from One special seabird – the small and very of travelers aboard the 296-foot state- the lower 48 states, local residents, foreign rare whiskered auklet – nests on the Baby owned Tustumena ferry to the Alaska visitors, native Alaskans, fishermen, Coast Islands about 30 miles from Dutch Maritime NWR as they tour, from May to Guard personnel and business people. Harbor/Unalaska. Birders from around October, from Homer to Kodiak. the world ride the Tustumena through the The State of Alaska’s Marine Highway Alaska Maritime Refuge, hoping for a The ferry makes the 125-mile journey System has nine vessels serving coastal glimpse. This rare seabird and many other twice weekly, with an average of 150 communities. For many remote Aleutian species make up the 40 million seabirds passengers. Each month, the ferry goes communities, the monthly ferry visit is that visit the refuge yearly. beyond Kodiak to the beauty and the only reliable contact with the grandeur of the Aleutian Islands. outside world. I am always on the look out for ways to involve passengers with the beautiful and For the past four years, I have been the For the ferry passengers, the trip is a diverse geology, flora, fauna and people of USFWS naturalist who travels monthly chance to see an Aleutian Alaska rich with the Aleutian Islands. I use a multimedia from Homer to Dutch Harbor in the 9,000 years of native culture. For the approach: slide programs, videos, open Aleutian Islands, stopping in Kodiak, Refuge System, the trips are a chance to forums and hands-on activities.

Pg 22 Refuge Update | July/August 2004 McKay. Attorney David Woodgerd joined Key also was an early and unexpectedly Association, with laying out a somewhat later, when the group sought large gift – more than $10,000 – that straightforward path for the organization. advice about by-laws and articles of showed that individuals are willing to put He points to a few keys for success: incorporation. their money where their hearts are. O Membership dues today range from $10 An officer with a business orientation Quickly, education and signage emerged as for students to $5,000 for an “eagle” is a tremendous asset. “Because I ran top priorities for the Friends group, which sustaining life membership. “You have to my own business, I am very today also lists advocacy and “developing have people willing to ask people who are aggressive,” said McKay. “I push this the refuge as the hub of conservation for dedicated to conservation to contribute,” group much hard than most volunteer the valley and surrounding communities” said McKay. “It starts with the groups would be pushed.” A volunteer among top issues. leadership, but anyone can ask for lawyer to draft incorporation papers a donation.” and an accountant to be treasurer are “The mentor visit was key,” said beneficial as well. McDonald. “The community was The Friends have an informative and O enthused about starting a Friends group, evocative membership brochure. McKay Seek opportunities to put out the but we really didn’t know how to get the and others are speaking to such groups as membership message. The group ball rolling.” the Main Street Association, the chamber has a table at every community of commerce, Ducks Unlimited, Trout event. “You can’t just stick the After the mentor visit, the organizing brochures in stacks,” said McKay. phase moved rather quickly. The core Unlimited and civic clubs to harvest new members. “You have to have a conversation group began meeting twice monthly. with each brochure.” They brought a diversity of people into They have mailed membership brochures O the picture. They asked 90-year-old to Audubon Society members, with that Finally, the work of a Friends group is a Donna Metcalf, widow of Sen. Lee group’s permission. They meet monthly team effort. “You have to have passion Metcalf, to be the group’s first member. and have special committees on to do the work,” summarized McKay, They brainstormed goals and objectives. fundraising, signage, membership “and you have to have the time.” They pushed hard for a new refuge and mapping. manager when Dave Gilland became “This group is the best thing to happen to manager at Benton Lake NWR, MT. McKay credits Taking Flight, a handbook the Lee Metcalf Refuge since its creation produced by the National Wildlife Refuge in 1963,” concluded McDonald.

Izembek Refuge at Cold Bay is a to the ferry. The interval crossroads for migrating waterfowl and ashore is a highlight. shorebirds. Established in 1960 to protect the Pacific Black Brant, a small coastal With weather delays, this goose, Izembek Refuge is 600 air miles small window of time from Anchorage. Visitors are fervent to sometimes closes. Last year, see it when the ferry pulls in. we succeeded in making the trip six of seven times. We This year, I arranged with Captain Robert hope to succeed on all the trips Crowley and Izembek Refuge Manager this year. Rick Poetter to extend our usual, too- short 45-minute stopover to 120 minutes. The Alaska Maritime Refuge’s The extra time allows refuge personnel to ferry naturalist program has bring trucks and a small school bus to been a great opportunity to transport passengers to the viewing bring the USFWS message to platform overlooking the Izembek a tremendously diverse The ferry trips are a chance for visitors to see an Alaska rich with 9,000 Lagoon, interpreting along the way. The group as we travel through the waters of this magnificent years of native culture. For the Refuge System, the trips are a chance passengers now have an hour and a half to introduce passengers to the world’s finest network of conservation refuge. on the refuge before they must dash back lands. (USFWS)

July/August 2004 | Refuge Update Pg 23 Chief’s Corner– from pg 2 Another Mile Added to Florida National that will serve the Refuge System for years to come. Scenic Trail We are still working to interpret the The US Forest Service and the National ballot information. As it is distilled, we Park Service’s National Trail Land will share the interpretation with you. Resources Program Center bought 292 acres along the Wakulla River April 27 to Clearly, Summit participants believe we extend the federally-funded Florida need to conduct rigorous scientific National Scenic Trail (FNST) another assessments on our refuges and mile. The land will be managed as part of implement a strategic growth process St. Marks NWR, which already has a 42- that takes scientific data into account. mile segment of the trail. We must enhance law enforcement and develop system-wide bird and Volunteers with the Florida Trail habitat monitoring. Association plan to build a one-mile hiking So far, 340 acres of important wildlife habitat have But something as important as trail this fall to connect with the trail in been added to the St. Marks Refuge as part of land enunciated priorities emerged from the the refuge. acquisition for the Florida National Scenic Trail. (James Burnett/USFWS) Summit. We left with a renewed sense of purpose, determination and So far, 340 acres of important wildlife optimism. We appreciated again that habitat have been added to the refuge as incompatible development and allowed the Refuge System is the best system part of trail acquisition. Coupled with a the refuge to offer compatible wildlife- of public lands in the world. We 42-acre tract bought by the Forest dependent recreation without using scarce dedicated ourselves again to ensuring Service in 2002, the newest acquisition, USFWS acquisition dollars. that the public, where appropriate and purchased from the Sam M. Shine with our help, would enjoy their lands Foundation for $1 million, will eliminate a The 292 acres in Wakulla County is one of and their fish and wildlife resources. gap in the FNST. Moreover, the acquisi- the largest undeveloped areas remaining tions have insulated the refuge from along the river. We were thankful once again that we have the privilege of working for the best cause in the world. Send Us Your Comments Letters to the Editor or suggestions about Refuge Update can be e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to Refuge Update, USFWS-NWRS, 4401 North Fairfax Dr., Room 634C, Arlington, VA 22203-1610.

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