U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service May/June 2013 | Vol 10, No 3 RefugeUpdate National Wildlife Refuge System www.fws.gov/refuges INSIDE: Wind-blown native plants on the Lanphere Dunes at Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in California. Managing the dunes, in light of the constant disturbance they experience, is a time- “A Nature Guide consuming but fascinating job. See Focus section. (Andrea Pickart/USFWS) Is an Interpreter” San Luis Refuge Visitor Center Of Many Disciplines Meets LEED Platinum Standards “Interpretation is an art, which combines By Madeline Yancey with many arts,” said Freeman Tilden, author he headquarters/visitor center at San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex of Interpreting Our in central California is the first U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility to earn Heritage and a father of the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest rating. T interpretation. The 16,500-square-foot center is certified as LEED platinum. LEED stands for That philosophy is the essence of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. draft Strategic Plan for Interpretation, The center, which opened in 2011, was funded by the American Recovery and which has one overriding goal: Reinvestment Act. It was designed by Catalyst Architecture of Prescott, AZ, and to strengthen, formalize and built by West Coast Contractors of Reno, NV, with Service input and assistance. To institutionalize interpretation within earn the platinum label, the center met standards for energy conservation, renewable the Refuge System. energy production, water efficiency, use of recycled materials in construction, and The draft plan, having gone through indoor environmental quality and control. a six-week public review process, Because elements incorporated into the visitor center are widely available, it serves is now back in the hands of the as an example to builders and homeowners who want to construct environmentally Conserving the Future Interpretation friendly houses, neighborhoods and communities. and Environmental Education implementation team. The plan is Two photovoltaic solar panel arrays provide more than half of the center’s electrical expected to be finalized later this year. needs. Many other elements minimize energy use. Tall windows and clerestory continued on pg 19 continued on pg 18 FOCUS: Managing for Disturbance, pages 8-15 From the Director Balancing Endangered Species and Development RefugeUpdate lmost 17 years ago, the U.S. to set aside 30,428 acres of endangered Sally Jewell Address editorial Fish and Wildlife Service, Travis species habitat in western Travis County, Secretary inquiries to: ACounty in Texas, the city of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. Department of the Refuge Update Austin, numerous conservation partners, Interior USFWS-NWRS private landowners and developers It has not been easy or simple—few 4401 North Fairfax Dr., Dan Ashe worked together in the spirit of shared things worth doing are. Room 634C Director Arlington, VA sacrifice to reach a compromise that The result is a preserve for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 22203-1610 protects endangered species and balances conservation of eight endangered Service Phone: 703-358-1858 Fax: 703-358-2517 development in one of the fastest- species, including the black-capped vireo Jim Kurth E-mail: growing areas of the United States. and golden-cheeked warbler, as well as 27 Chief [email protected] National Wildlife The result was other species believed to be at risk. Refuge System This newsletter is the Balcones The black-capped vireo and golden- published on recycled Martha Nudel Canyonlands paper using soy-based cheeked warbler certainly benefit from Editor in Chief Conservation Plan the preserve the BCCP established. ink. (BCCP), among the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Bill O’Brian first regional multi- Refuge, which was established in 1992 Managing Editor C species federally to protect nesting habitat of the warbler protected habitat and vireo, also benefits. Dan Ashe conservation plans we ever issued. The land managers of the preserve and the refuge meet regularly to discuss how The BCCP allows development, even to best manage for these species. They when that development results in also discuss such common management Inside incidental “take” of an endangered species. In return, the developers agreed continued on pg 18 Moths of the South Trinity River Refuge in Texas and Bon Secour Refuge in Alabama know the beauty of one of nature’s Chief’s Corner underappreciated species. Page 5 Giving Nature a Hand Service Science Awards National wildlife refuges were front other Nature is pretty good at to human uses, the fragmented and center in the three U.S. Fish and taking care of herself. landscape often prevents the ecosystem Wildlife Service 2012 Science Awards. from functioning naturally. These MEcosystems are full of forces Page 6 fragmented lands, which include most that provide for renewal. Some occur of our national wildlife refuges, require annually, like flooding in bottomland management that mimics the ways Walking Wetlands hardwoods. Others are periodic, like natural landscapes function. Everybody’s heard of crop rotation. fire in longleaf pine forests. There Wetland rotation is lesser known. But are infrequent, Over the years, we have developed a at Klamath Basin Refuge Complex it catastrophic wide variety of management practices to is fundamental to conservation and events—major ensure that refuge lands provide healthy waterfowl-habitat building. Page 7 hurricanes, stand- and vibrant habitat. replacing wildfires, tornadoes and We have studied the ways that natural FOCUS: Managing for Disturbance derechoes—that disturbances—like the ones described in Flooding and drought … hurricanes reset the clock on the Focus section of this issue of Refuge and fire … winter and its thaw. Update—help shape ecosystems. We Jim Kurth natural succession of National wildlife refuges must cope the landscape. have continued to learn and adapt our with myriad natural disturbances. land and water management practices And they do. Pages 8-15 As our population continues to grow to accommodate such disturbances. No and more wildlife habitat is converted one manages land for wildlife better than continued on pg 19 2 • Refuge Update The Art of Questioning at Ozark Plateau Refuge By Anna Harris sking good questions is an art. Shea Hammond, wildlife specialist Aat Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge, is well on his way to becoming a master. The refuge is closed to the public, yet it is so connected to community that its education center was donated by a local admirer and an abutting landowner is seeking to establish a conservation easement. The refuge sits atop karst topography in the heart of the Ozark Mountains. Commonly referred to as “the Bat Refuge,” it is known for protection of the Ozark big-eared bat, the Indiana bat, the gray bat and other species found in its numerous caves. Researchers and citizen scientists come for a chance to study bats; students and tribes come to learn about caves; Scouts and other wilderness Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge wildlife specialist Shea Hammond works with a young explorers come to test their survival attendee at a recent Deep Nature Connection workshop the refuge developed with the help of the Ozark Tracker Society. (Alex Kent/alexkentphoto.smugmug.com) skills in the remote eastern Oklahoma location; and, perhaps most impressive, individuals come to participate in I attended one of the weekend-long Smith brought sounds of geese, ducks workshops designed to connect them to workshops in January. It focused on and kingfishers. Around dusk, raptors, the natural world. Bird Language, a program pioneered by songbirds and an occasional deer would environmental educator Jon Young. Bird reveal themselves. That’s what puts this refuge on the Language seeks to teach participants map. When Hammond describes the not about bird identification but about It was gratifying to watch how facilitators partnership he has developed with the a larger awareness of the interactions gently guided participants to experience Ozark Tracker Society to provide Deep between people and birds in their deeper connections with the surrounding Nature Connection workshops, as he natural surroundings. Through a wildlife and with each other. I came away did at a National Conservation Training process of slowing down, focusing on the convinced that what’s going on in the Center class last year, he gets to the present moment and asking questions, Ozarks can serve as a model for the entire heart of a major part of Conserving the participants begin to relate in new ways National Wildlife Refuge System. Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next to birds, the outdoors and one another. Outreach to the community obviously Generation. He’s a passionate U.S. Fish takes many forms. Million-dollar visitor and Wildlife Service employee on a one- The Deep Nature Connection workshops often take place at the refuge. centers are wonderful assets. However, man refuge who brings together people there are many other ways to make of all backgrounds, abilities, ages and But because of weather and other considerations, 60 of us met at Lake Fort a lasting impression. By asking the ethnicities, and he encourages them to community what it wants and responding, immerse themselves in nature. Smith State Park in Arkansas about two hours away. Veterans, teachers, hunters, Hammond is developing the next The society and the refuge have hosted developers, people with disabilities and generation of conservation stewards. This half-a-dozen Deep Nature Connection families welcomed one another. Included is part of what Conserving the Future is workshops. The workshops are funded in this diverse mix were nine interpreters asking us all to do. by a grant from the Environmental from other Arkansas state parks. Already The Refuge System is often described as Protection Agency. They feature comfortable guiding people outdoors, they the front porch of the Service. Shea facilitators skilled in the art of came to learn new questioning techniques.