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March 2014
Shop At Fred Meyer? Enroll in the Community
Rewards Program and Help the Friends!
Fred Meyer is donating $2.5 million per year to non-profits in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and
Washington, based on where their customers tell them to give. Here’s how the program works:
You still earn your Rewards Points, Fuel Points, and Rebates, just as you do today!
Sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to
Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge at www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards.
You can search for us by our name or by our non-profit number 89824.
Then, every time you shop and use your Rewards Card, you are helping the Friends earn a
donation to support the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge!
If you do not have a Rewards Card, they are available at the Customer Service desk of any
Fred Meyer store.
For more information, please visit www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards.
Next Natural History Event March 20!
The River & the Company: How the Fur Trade Affected the Waterways In &
Around Ridgefield NWR
Presented by: Dr. Doug Wilson
6:30pm - Old Liberty Theater, 113 N Main Ave, Ridgefield
Cost: $10 Members, $15 Non-members
In This Issue...
Welcome to our First Business
Member!
Board Seeking New Members
Shop At Fred Meyer? Enroll in the
Community Rewards Program and
Help the Friends!
Next Natural History Event March
20!
Spring Volunteer Trainings Just
Around the Corner!
Cathlapotle Plankhouse
Habitat Restoration
Refuge Complex News & Events
Interested in Membership?
Welcome to our First
Business Member!
A warm welcome to our first
Business Member, Kim Kelleher
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Sponsored in part by Columbia Credit Union
Spring Volunteer Trainings Just Around the Corner!
Get Involved at your Local Wildlife Refuge
Check out these upcoming volunteer trainings, and be sure to share them with friends, family, and
anyone you think would like to get involved at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge!
of Windermere Real Estate! She
is the first to take advantage of
our brand-new Business
Membership program premiered
at the January Ridgefield
Business Association meeting. In
this new program, businesses
who support the Friends and the
Refuge will be identified on our
website and in our e-newsletter
for twelve months based on the
membership level they choose.
Business Friends at the $100
level have their business name
listed on our website and
e-newsletter. Business Allies at
the $250 level have their
business logo in both areas. For
more information or to schedule
a presentation on the Refuge
and our programs at your
business group, please contact
us.
Friends Board
Seeking New
Members
Board Member Openings
Friends of Ridgefield
National Wildlife Refuge
The Friends of Ridgefield
National Wildlife Refuge is
looking to expand its Board
Membership. The Board is
seeking individuals with a deep
passion for the environment and
wildlife, appreciation of the
area's rich cultural heritage,
maintenance and restoration of
habitat, and environmental and
cultural education. We are
looking for individuals with
interests and skills in dealing
with the intersection of
organizations, the government,
and business; advocacy; and
fund raising. Board Members are
expected to attend monthly
meetings, lead and participate
in designated committees, Bird
Fest and Fund Raising events,
and other community activities
and events.
Please send resume and letter
of interest to:
contact@ridgefieldfriends.org
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Our Sponsors
Cathlapotle Plankhouse Update & Events
Plankhouse Will Reopen April 12th&13th
Clark Public Utilities
National Environmental
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Education Foundation
National Fish& Wildlife
Foundation
Environmental Paper & Print
Pacific NW Best Fish Co.
Parr Lumber
Portland Audubon
Umpqua Bank
Business
Members
Business Friends
Though there is still a bit of winter ahead of us, Plankhouse and refuge staff and volunteers have
been busy looking into the spring and planning the next round of Volunteer events, trainings, and
the 2014 Cathlapotle Plankhouse season. More information about these events will be posted soon,
but save the date for the following events. See you around the house in the spring!
March 20 - "Waterways as Trade Routes – the Hudson Bay Company’s History in and around
the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge" Part of the Friends Natural History Series at the
Liberty Theatre in Ridgefield. Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for non members
March 12th, 12-3, Mandatory Volunteer orientation and Training . Lots of new projects are
beginning on the refuge, and we want all volunteers who work with the public to be up to
date on new policys, projects, and events. We will provide snacks and refreshments!
Location is the Refuge Shop, contact Josie for entrance info. If you cannot attend the
training, it will be recorded and you will have to watch it on your own time. RSVP to
Josie_Finley@fws.gov
March 15th, Field trip open house and teacher training. If you or someone you know is
interested in seeing how our field trip program is done, join us for this fun open house. We
will run participants through our field trip program just like we do with the students! RSVP
to Josie-Finley@fws.gov.
You could be our First Business
Friend! For more information or
to schedule a presentation on
the Refuge and our programs at
your business group,
please contact us at
contact@ridgefieldfriends.org
Business Allies
Kim Kelleher
Principal Broker ABR, GRI
Licensed in Oregon and
Washington
phone: 503-209-6587
fax: 971-230-7943
kelleher777@gmail.com
March 27, April 3,10,17, Field Trip volunteer training: If you want to be involved in our
field trip educational programs we will hose a 4 week education training. Each week will
focus on a different topic, the natural environment of the Refuge, the cultural history of
the refuge, how to work with students and good interpretation skills, and the activities and
content of our school group educational programs. contact Josie to RSVP or for more info.
Josie_Finley@fws.gov
April 5th is the new docent training, so spread the word to friends and family that might
want to get involved. Though this training is not required for experienced docents, it would
be a great refresher before the season starts. To RSVP or for more info contact Sarah at
plankhouse@gmail.com . If you or someone you know wants to be involved, but can't make
the training, have them contact Sarah and she can arrange alternate training plans.
April 12-13th, Plankhouse Opening Weekend and First Second Sunday event! Keep your eyes
open for the 2014 schedule that will be out soon!
If you'd like to become involved as a Plankhouse docent on weekends or with school
groups, contact Sarah Hill at Sarah_hill@fws.gov , or call (360) 887-4106 and she can help get
you started!
Other Regional Events Highlighting Native American Cultures:
Kalapuyan Basket Weaving Workshop, Champoeg State Park March 1st
8239 Champoeg Road NE, Saint Paul, OR 97137
Saturday, March 111:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m
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Ticket Pricing: Free with $5 parking pass
Traditional Basket Weaving Workshop Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and Champoeg
State Heritage Area present Art in the Parks 2014. A series of traditional and contemporary arts
projects, demonstrations and hands on workshops presented throughout the year. March 1st
11-4pm Kalapuya basket weaving with Tribal member Stephanie Wood Champoeg State Park,
Visitor Center Auditorium 8239 Champoeg Road NE, Saint Paul, Ore 97137 Stephanie M. Wood,
Kalapuya, Rogue River and Chinook, an enrolled member of The Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde. Students will spend the day learning how to process Western Red Cedar, prepare it for
weaving, weave a medium sized basket and have a completed basket by the end of the class to
take home. Each student will learn how to traditionally process the bark and will learn four
different weaving techniques (plaiting, twine, 3-strand twine, and cordage), a rim and how to
make cordage. Admission to the event is free with your paid $5.00 parking day pass or an annual
State Parks Pass. *Class is limited to 15 people but the public is encouraged to watch. *Class
available to any weaving skill level and ages 10 years or older. For more information please
contact Park Ranger Dan Klug 503-678-1251 ext. 222
Daniel.klug@state.or.us www.oregonstateparks.org
David Douglas Among the Chinooks, March 8th, 2pm Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum
A joint lecture will be held March 8th at 2pm at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco,
WA. Join Chinook Tribe member Tony Johnson and noted naturalist and author Jack Nisbet as they
explore the legacy of Scottish naturalist, David Douglas. Nisbet and Johnson worked together to
bring to light the important role that the Chinook people played in the success of Douglas’s
research almost 200 years ago. Their work culminated in the exhibition and book “David Douglas:
A Naturalist at work. This lecture made possible by a grant from Humanities Washington.
http://columbiapacificheritagemuseum.org/news-events/
Writer Sherman Alexie visits Willamette University March 11
Described by The New York Times Book Review as “one of the major lyric voices of our time,”
best-selling author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie is visiting Willamette University March 11.
The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in Smith Auditorium and is part of the university’s Atkinson Lecture
Series. Through the series, internationally prominent artists, authors, leaders and journalists are
brought to campus twice a year to give a public lecture and spend time with Willamette students.
A Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Indian, Alexie’s writing draws from his experiences growing up on the
Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpnit, Wash. Known for using humor to tackle such subjects as
poverty, violence and alcoholism among the lives of Native American people, Alexie has written
24 books to date.
His first book, “Reservation Blues,” won a Booklist’s Editors Choice Award for Fiction, and his
second, “Indian Killer,” was a New York Times Notable Book. His semi-autobiographical novel,
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” won the National Book Award in Young People’s
Literature in 2007. Alexie wrote and produced the film, “Smoke Signals,” based on his book, “The
Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” The film won the Audience Award and Filmmakers
Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film festival. In 2002, Alexie made his directorial debut with “The
Business of Fancydancing.”
When not writing or performing, Alexie supports youth programs and initiatives that help at-risk
Native American youths. To that end, he became a founding board member of Longhouse Media in
2005. The mission of the nonprofit organization is to equip young Native Americans with
filmmaking skills to help them express their cultural identity and spur social change.
Tickets are available online and in the Putnam University Information Center beginning Feb. 17.
Students, faculty and staff may reserve one free ticket and buy additional tickets for $5. General
admission tickets cost $10, and alumni may purchase tickets for $5. http://www.willamette.edu
/events/atkinson_lecture/ticket_info/index.html
Film Festival | This is Not a Silent Movie, March 30, 2014
Co-sponsored by Hollywood Theater, this festival will feature films by Native filmmakers, including
the feature-length film,On the Ice, by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean. This is a featured program in
conjunction with This is not a Silent Movie, an exhibition organized by The Craft & Folk Art
Museum in collaboration with Anchorage Museum. The program will be followed by Q&A.
http://cal.pnca.edu/e/1026
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Blazers Native American Heritage Night
An exciting opportunity to support NAYA and the Portland Trail Blazers is coming up on Thursday
March 20th. The Blazers are hosting the First Annual Native American Heritage Night when they
play the Washington Wizards. To show their support of the Native Community, the Blazers will
give a portion of ticket sales back to NAYA.
Order your tickets online at http://tickets.trailblazers.com/deal s promotional code: NAHN1 .
Order deadline is Monday February 17th. Don’t delay, get your tickets today! Call or email
Lauren Odayomari@trailblazers.com, 503 963-3957 .
Habitat Restoration
Update & Events
January/February Tree Planting & Maintenance
River 'S' Unit: Wednesdays - Feb 12 & 26, March 5 & 12 Saturdays - Feb 8 & 22, March 1 & 15
Carty Unit: Wednesdays - March 19, April 2 & 9
JOIN US for volunteer work days in the wild and beautiful setting of the 5,200-acre Refuge as we
plant native trees and shrubs, maintain/repair past plantings, and install wire fencing for
protection. Please share our full season schedule with others who might be interested. Come out
and enjoy the cranes, geese, eagles, hawks, swans, and other wildlife who keep us company while
we work!
All workdays are from 9am-12:30pm rain or shine. Wear waterproof footwear, bring gloves,
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and dress for the weather. Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is encouraged
but not required. Contact staff: 360-887-3883 or Tatyana_Klepanchuk@fws.gov.
Ridgefield Refuge Complex
News & Events
Great Viewing along the Auto Tour Route
During this season, you will see many bird species busy on the Refuge. Come for the Auto Tour and
your car functions as your bird blind, ensuring that birds will stand or fly near you for excellent
viewing and photographing opportunities. Birds become accustomed to our slow-moving cars, and
will not as quickly fly away. Remember to stay in your car each October 1 - April 30, when this bird
activity is at its peak!
March 12, Refuge Open House and Volunteer Training
The Refuge will be holding a "Volunteer Orientation" session in the Bachelor Island Shop on
Wednesday March 12th. The goal is to get current volunteers caught up on current events,
opportunities, and Law Enforecement/safety information. All new or prospective volunteers are
welcome as well. This session will be taped and those regular volunteers that do not attend will
be asked to view it on their own time. This will serve to get people up to speed on what they are
sharing with visitors as well as new own activities and projects at the Refuge. Please contact
Josie Finley at 360-887-4106 or email Josie_Finley@fws.gov for questions, directions to the
meeting space, and to RSVP.
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Volunteer Opportunities at Steigerwald Lake NWR
Did you know that Ridgefield NWR is part of a complex of four refuges managed together?
Steigerwald Lake NWR, just outside of Washougal, WA is part of our complex and is another great
place to walk and enjoy the native wildlife of Southwest Washington. And, what better way to get
to know a refuge than to hang out with its volunteers?! Contact volunteer@refugestewards.org to
get involved or if you have any questions. Here are some opportunities worth checking out at
Steigerwald Lake NWR:
March 8 & 15, 9am - 12pm, tree planting
Thank you for visiting the refuge and supporting conservation! If you have any questions regarding
activities and regulations on the refuge, call the office Monday through Friday 7:30 to 3:30 at
360-887-4106.
Interested in Membership?
Besides receiving the monthly E-News with Refuge updates, upcoming events, and wildlife news,
members enjoy member- and volunteer- only events. Also, with any $50+ membership you will
receive an annual Refuge Pass, which covers entrance fees.
Don’t forget to glance at the Refuge calendar, your one-stop shop for fun activities and volunteer
opportunities!
Discounts at Local Businesses for New and Renewing Members!
Would you like to enjoy a cup of coffee from Ridgefield's Season's after a
morning hike on the Refuge? Or perhaps breakfast before you head out on
auto tour route at Pioneer Street Cafe or lunch at Vinnie's Pizza after a
long day of wildlife viewing? Or maybe you would like to get a discount
on some supplies at Shorty's or Backyard Bird Shop?
Become a Friend or renew your membership today , and receive a member card with great
discounts at these wonderful local businesses! Feel free to contact us for any questions or
inquiries.
"Our mission is to support, protect, and enhance Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and its wildlife
habitat; and to broaden public awareness and participation in its environmental, cultural, and
educational opportunities."
Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
P.O. Box 1022, Ridgefield, WA 98642
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