Back on February 13, 2010, this blog reported on an effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to have the public help name nine new man-made islands built in backwaters between Brownsville, Minnesota and Stoddard, Wisconsin, as part of a wildlife habitat restoration effort at Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The [...]

In a major victory for refuge supporters, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a preliminary plan for a proposed Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, which will lead to a two-year study that will determine whether the first national wildlife refuge in the Chicago region should be created.
On February 13, this blog reported on the [...]

The Friends of Hackmatack are working to build support for the creation of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge in the Chicago Metro area (about 60 miles from Chicago and 50 miles from Milwaukee).
According to the members:

We are a group of local citizens from Walworth County, Wisconsin and McHenry County, Illinois, working on a rare opportunity [...]

The Winona Daily News reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking the public to help name nine new man-made islands built in backwaters between Brownsville, Minnesota and Stoddard, Wisconsin, as part of a wildlife habitat restoration effort at Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The islands are among 26 to [...]

Mlive.com reports that officials from the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge and from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources caught a turtle and fish poacher who was removing painted turtles, snapping turtles, largemouth bass and channel catfish from near the refuge’s Green Point Environmental Learning Center.
According to Mlive.com:

Officials said they received several reports that a man [...]

The News-Messenger reports that Maj. Randel Rogers of the Ohio Army National Guard will present “Birding from the Trenches” at 2 p.m. Dec. 13 at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ohio. While serving at Al Asad Airbase, Rogers encountered 124 species of birds and numerous mammals, including the elusive jungle cat.
The talk will feature photos [...]

Operation Migration is a nonprofit group that has been working with various nonprofit and government partners to create a migrating flock of whooping cranes between Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin to two different Florida national wildlife refuges. You’ve probably read about how their ultralight aircraft leads the cranes down south and teaches them how [...]

The Frazee Forum in Minnesota reports that Friend and volunteer Denis Mudderman of Cotton Lake has won the President’s Call to Service Award (given on behalf of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation) for over 5,000 hours of service performed at Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge.
According to the Frazee Forum:
With his tech savvy skills, [...]

News-Messenger.com reports that on October 30, a meeting will be held where Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Manager Doug Brewer and representatives from refuges in New Jersey and Colorado will get together with current and future volunteers to provide everyone in the community a way to be part of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
If you’d like to [...]

The Juneau County Star Times is reporting that the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin has broken ground on its new Visitor Center. Both public and private sector interests worked together to obtain grant money to build the center. (Photo: Left to Right - Congressman Ron Kind, Acting USFWS Director Rowan Gould, Midwest Regional Director [...]

On Saturday, Michigan Live ran an excellent article on Michgan’s Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge — America’s first international wildlife refuge (see boundary map). The refuge was officially created by Congress in 2001 from a bill introduced by Democratic Rep. John Dingell.
Because the refuge is at an intersection of the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways, [...]

According to the Winona Daily News in Minnesota, vandals have destroyed beetle cages at the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin, causing thousands of dollars in damage and destroying an annual project in which students and volunteers devote hundreds of labor hours.
From the News:

For the past seven years, the refuge has raised Galerucella beetles, which [...]