Vickie Hirschboeck, currently the assistant manager at Trempealeau NWR, will assume duties as the Trempealeau Refuge Manager immediately. Mary Stefanski, currently the manager at Rice Lake NWR in Minnesota, will take the helm of the Winona District in early August.

Upper Mississippi Refuge complex supervisor Don Hultman said he is excited about the experience and skills of the new managers. ?In addition to professional training and refuge experience, both Vickie and Mary have exceptional communication skills which are critical to working with the public and agency partners on and along the Mississippi River,? he said.

Hirschboeck has been the assistant manager at Trempealeau Refuge for several months and has over 10 years of experience on units of the National Wildlife Refuge System. She has served as a biologist with the Upper Mississippi River Refuge and has held biologist or management positions at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah, National Bison Range in Montana, and Devils Lake Wetland Management District in North Dakota.

Hirschboeck has an M.S. degree in Wildlife Biology from Montana State University and holds B.S. and B.F.A degrees from the University of Michigan. She enjoys drawing, painting, gardening, birdwatching, fly fishing, and turkey hunting.

Stefanski has been refuge manager of the 18,000-acre Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge near McGregor, Minn., since 2000 and previously held positions at Minnesota Valley Refuge in Bloomington, Minn., and the La Crosse District of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge.

She has an M.S. degree in Wildlife Management from St. Cloud State University and a B.S. in Animal Ecology from Mankato State University. In her free time Stefanski enjoys hiking, bowhunting, quilting, working with stained glass, and spending time with her two dogs.

With more than 3 million visitors per year, the ?Upper Miss? Refuge is the most visited refuge in the country and has the added complexity of a major navigation system, including 11 locks and dams within its boundary. It is also a world-class fish and wildlife area which harbors 306 species of birds; 119 species of fish; more than 130 active bald eagle nests; thousands of heron and egret nests; spectacular concentrations of canvasback ducks, tundra swans, and white pelicans; and several threatened or endangered species.