It's the time of year to show our Thanks!!

We are so thankful for all of our Volunteers! This year's report to the Fish and Wildlife Service showed we had a total of 3850 volunteer hours! This includes our Board Members, Trail Stewards, Monday Crew, Third Saturday participants, and many more! And our social media footprint is growing too - our Facebook page now has 1200 likes/followers, with posts frequently reaching several hundred folks, and some even reaching more than 10,000!! Our Instagram account also has over 400 followers! We are so thankful for all the social media love! We wouldn't be able to boast these numbers without the help of one of our volunteers, Jeff, who has been helping us set up trail cameras in ideal locations and then turning the videos in to engaging posts! Please help us thank Jeff by following him on IG @burningxjeff. A HUGE thank you to all of our Volunteers, Members, supporters, and followers!

A New Way To Donate!

Our new website is now able to take credit card payments! You can join or renew your membership, or simply make a donation directly from our website. Your financial contribution helps support our mission of connecting the regional community to the Gorge Refuges through partnership, public education, advocacy, and habitat restoration - we are able expand our outreach program in innovative ways, and to increase the number native trees we are able plant to strengthen our habitat restoration efforts.

And don't forget as you are doing your holiday shopping to consider designating us as your preferred non-profit for Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards. Fred Meyer Community Rewards requires you to re-designate your non-profit each year, so if you haven't checked that lately, make sure you do! Both programs are free to you to use!

Photo by Stella Van Horn, 2018 Youth Photo Contest Honorable Mention

Protecting Native Turtles at Pierce

In September, a group of Clark college students built western pond turtle nesting predator ex-closures to prevent predation of nests. Nine dump truck loads of gravel were taken from the dredged gibbons creek diversion structure to help create ideal nesting sites. An unbelievable amount of blackberry was cut and removed, too! There will be several plantings in the spring in these areas where the blackberries have been cleared. Our Monday Crew, 3rd Saturday Work Party Volunteers, and a group of 17 people from the Friends of the Columbia Gorge have all participated in this project over the past 3 months. The Friends of the Gorge volunteer crew also cut Indigobush along Hardy Creek while they were there. We also want to thank Keith Rutz, Habitat Restoration Specialist for the Friends of Ridgefield NWR, for leading the project along with our Refuge Biologist and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist.

Photo courtesy of Jared Strawderman

Gate Damage at Steigerwald

Recently, we've had multiple incidences of visitors not adhering to the posted times of the day use gate closures and damaging the entrance gate at Steigerwald Lake NWR. The damage is from vehicles pushing or ramming the entrance gate once the gate automatically closes for the day, which has resulted in expensive repair costs to the gate and the mechanical components. As a reminder, if you find yourself stuck behind the gate after it's closed, please call the Washougal Police non-emergency number at (360) 835-8701 and they will come let you out. Please plan your visits ahead of time - gate times are posted at the entrance to the Refuge, and also on our website. The Refuge is open dawn to dusk every day of the year; currently the hours are 7 am- 5 pm. The area is now under video surveillance and violators will be cited. If you see any suspicious behavior in the parking lot (or along the trail), please call Refuge Law Enforcement Officer Ryan Wagner at 360-448-3461.

Take a Walk with us!

#OptOutside on November 23rd with our Black Friday Walk. Led by our Volunteer Coordinator Jared, and expert birder Ken Pitts, the walk will begin at the Steigerwald trailhead at 10 am.

We also have two final bird walks left this year - December 1st and 15th both at 8 am at Steigerwald, and led by Ken Pitts.

Photo by Alyssa Zoller, 2018 Youth Photo Contest Honorable Mention