Several interesting developments have occurred regarding refuges and social media. The Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges now have a blog, so be sure to check it out: http://blog.coastalrefuges.org/.
Also, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now hitting Facebook in a big way. Be sure to “like” their pages so you can follow [...]

The Missoulian in Montana is reporting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge has abruptly ended its relationship with the Friends of the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge organization.
The volunteer group, which has donated numerous hours and over $100,000 to the refuge, said they were blindsided by the decision [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued their Summer 2010 issue of “Friends Forward”.
Read this latest issue to find out more about all the exciting programs and initiatives that volunteers are undertaking to help the USFWS in their work on national wildlife refuges around the country.
 

The National Wildlife Refuge Association just sent out an email update regarding recent action by the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee for the proposed Fiscal Year 2011 spending bill for the Department of the Interior. The NWRA stated that it is still unclear when the Interior bill will go to the House floor, but it [...]

As a follow-up to the story on July 27, Protests Over Death of Freshwater Marsh at Prime Hook NWR, we want to report on a press release that was sent out late yesterday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Dune Restoration at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, which [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published their July/August 2010 Refuge Update newsletter.
The issue offers many interesting stories from around the Refuge System, including a timely look at the many USFWS workers who are down south helping out with the BP oil spill clean-up.
Other stories include:
Saving a Butterfly
“Green” Meeting in Alaska
Counting Solution Holes [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a “Frequently Asked Questions for People Interested in Volunteering to Help with Wildlife Oil Spill Response Activities.”
Additional documents related to the BP oil spill response can be found on the Unified Command for the BP Oil Spill website.
Tags:
National Wildlife Refuge System, BP oil spill

The National Wildlife Refuge Association praised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their decision to halt Louisiana’s dredging operations near Breton National Wildlife Refuge off Louisiana’s coast.
The state of Louisiana had been given permission to dredge sand for protective berms related to the state’s oil spill [...]

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has approved a total of $35.7 million for refuge acquisitions and wetlands grants for migratory birds — $30.4 million in federal funding for grants to conserve more than 6.1 million acres of wetlands and associated habitats in the United States and [...]

West Virginia’s Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge — the 500th refuge — is now accepting public comments on their draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and environmental assessment (EA).
A CCP is a 15-year strategic plan that guides management for all refuge programs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed four alternative approaches for [...]

The Paris Post-Intelligencer posted a story today about John Taylor, who is retiring after 40 years of service in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Working with 18 refuges across nine states, Taylor, manager of the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, has worked with the refuge system on many improvements through the years.
In 1992, U.S. Fish and Wildlife [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has posted an interesting video that looks at the impact of climate change on the National Wildlife Refuge System and what biologists and refuge managers are doing to prepare for the challenges of a changing environment.

Tags:
National Wildlife Refuge System, climate change, US Fish and Wildlife Service