A sampling of volunteers from the Summer '07 gathering at Sachuest Point NWR

2007 Volunteer of the Year, Andre Levesque, flanked by his wife, Jean Wilson (left), and volunteer coordinator, Janna Greenhalgh (right)

Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex has one of the top volunteer programs in the nation in terms of hours reported and the diversity of that contribution.  Over 200 skilled and dedicated individuals of all ages report over 13,000 hours annually, a sizeable percentage of our paid staff time.  This volunteer effort directly supports all of the refuge areas of emphasis, including visitor services, the biological program, and facilities maintenance.  Day-in and day-out, our volunteer cadre greets visitors to our visitor centers and contact station, leads interpretive walks, explains coastal habitats to schoolchildren, monitors waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds, treats invasive plants, manages our grasslands, and provides a "second set of hands" to our maintenance professional. 

We are especially proud of the recognition several of our volunteers have received this year.  Andre Levesque was named Volunteer of the Year for the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex.  For the past eight years Mr. Levesque has shared his caring for Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge by willingly volunteering to do a wide variety of tasks with enthusiasm, professionalism and integrity.  Mr. Levesque maintains a regular shift on Tuesday mornings with his wife at the visitor center, he interacts with visitors on the refuge's trails, and operates the tractor to cut brush and repair the trails.  His "can-do" attitude has brightened many days.  Furthermore, he has been recognized by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, for contributing more than 3,000 volunteer hours these past eight years.  His dedication is an inspiration for us all which we thank him for sharing with us.

In addition, Anne B. Wagner and Jay Anderson also received the DOI Secretarial volunteer award for their contributions of more than 3,000 volunteer service hours to the RI National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Beverly Lavallee, Gil Lavallee, Jack Lewis, Patrick Roche, Richard Megargee, Don Barrows, and Everett Jameson were awarded the Service Director's volunteer award for contributing in excess of 2,000 hours for the Complex.