By Kim Strassburg, USFWS

What, exactly, happens at an urban refuge?

The idea might come across initially as an oxymoron to some, but that is far from the truth.

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge is located in Portland, Oregon, and serves as an excellent example of a place where even a city-sized community can engage with nature in a meaningful way.

While a group of 8 to 10-year-olds work on nature photography, Portland Community College conservation biology students explore the refuge trails and interact with staff to learn about wildlife management and conservation careers.

Students expolore the Refuge. (Photo: USFWS)

While pre-school groups make crafts in the Discovery Classroom and walk the trails, teens from a North Portland Youth Employment Institute program explore the Refuge with a volunteer naturalist.

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Duck Stamps go on sale tomorrow!

Are you ready?

Joseph Hautman of Plymouth, Minnesota, won the 2011 Federal Duck Stamp Contest. His art has been made into the 2012-2013 Federal Duck Stamp. (Photo: USFWS)

Here are some fun facts to get you revved up to make your purchase! 

Did you know ....

• Duck Stamps are not postage stamps! Besides serving as a hunting license and a conservation tool, a current year's Federal Duck Stamp also serves as an entrance pass for National Wildlife Refuges where admission is normally charged. Duck Stamps and the products that bear duck stamp images are also popular collector items.
  
  
• Duck Stamps benefit wildlife! Ninety-eight cents out of every dollar generated by the sales of Federal Duck Stamps goes directly to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
  
  
• Duck Stamps help kids learn about conservation! In 1989, the first Junior Duck Stamps were produced. Junior Duck Stamps are now the capstone of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Junior Duck Stamp environmental education program, teaching students across the nation "conservation through the arts." Revenue generated by the sales of Junior Duck Stamps funds environmental education programs across the country!

Learn more about how and why you should consider buying a Duck Stamp!

By Tana Nulph, USFWS

The pollinators are buzzing happily at Ennis National Fish Hatchery as they enjoy the much-anticipated arrival of summer. And thanks to more than 250 new pollinator-friendly trees and shrubs we recently planted at the hatchery, they have plenty to buzz about!

This tree project has been a cooperative effort involving the hatchery's permanent staff, the Youth Conservation Corps members, and local elementary school students, who planted several of the trees for Earth Day 2011. The goal of the project is to add habitat for pollinators, inform students of the importance of pollinators and the challenges they face, and to improve the landscape of the hatchery using native vegetation. This project has reached many students, from the 2nd to 5th graders who planted the trees to their older siblings who tend them as YCC's.

Working hard to place the plants properly! (Photo: USFWS)

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How do you mark a 109^th birthday?  

In style.  

All the more so when the honoree is an American icon, respected the world-over as a conservation force and national treasure.   

Ducks take off at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Photo: Steve Hillebrand

The birth of the National Wildlife Refuge System on March 14, 1903, ensured that our children and our children’s children will inherit an America that still has natural spaces and the wild creatures.

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What do we miss when we're looking down?  This photo tour is here to answer that question.  Enjoy these views of refuge skies, and if you'd like to see even more, head over to Flickr for the full set!

Snow geese and Ross' geese in flight at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in California.  Photo: USFWS

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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we wanted to share some of the more fascinating shows species put on to attract a mate. These colorful, noisy rituals can be seen firsthand at many national wildlife refuges.

Take the male Attwater’s praire chicken. He’ll dance a jig and make a “booming” sound by filling orange air sacks on the sides of his neck. The spectacle can be seen in March and April at Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, which has its annual festival April 14-15.

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Have you ever heard of camera traps?  

They're cameras triggered by a combination of motion and heat to capture images of wildlife.  The following images were part of a four-camera project involving students from New Mexico's Rio Rancho High School who worked with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the staff of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge to record mammal life on the refuge.  

About 200 students sorted through the resulting 16,000 photographs to document the presence and behavior of 11 mammal species, including some that were previously not known to inhabit the refuge!

Here's what the camera looks like to take the pictures - scent post were placed near the cameras.

Camera used in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, NM camera trap project by Matthew Farley, Jennifer Miyashiro and James Stuart.  Photo made available by J.N. Stuart, Creative Commons

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Each week, the National Wildlife Refuge System puts together a slideshow on flickr for people to see some amazing shots of wildlife from across the country.  Check it out here!

Can you guess what all these images have in common?  

Okay, it's not that hard if you read the blog title.  They all have to do with snow - from snowfalls to animals with "snow" in their names!

What's your favorite thing related to snow? 

This snowy owl sits adjacent to Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon.  Photo: Roy W. Lowe/USFWS

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Every so often it's good to look into the past to revisit the people who got us where we are today. Looking Back is a new series on the people who helped shape the National Wildlife Refuge System. The series is based on "A Look Back," a regular column written by Karen Leggett, from the Refuge System Branch of Communications, which appears in each issue of the Refuge Update newsletter.

In 1947, Elizabeth “Betty” Losey – fresh from the University of Michigan with a master of science degree in wildlife management and conservation – said she couldn’t get a job with the Michigan State Game Division because no one wanted a woman out in the field overnight. 

Fortunately, a fellow Michigan graduate offered her a job. 

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Snow can be beautiful - especially when flakes are slowly falling from the sky, covering us in a soft white blanket.  It's a time to curl up on the sofa, maybe a fire crackling in the background, and sip on something warm.  Let us take you on a snow-filled tour, including some cute critters and some great scenery.  

A Cardinal sits on a Pine tree branch in New Jersy.  Photo: Laura Perlick

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