News
The National Wildlife Refuge Association and Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates (CORFA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), to formalize our long-standing partnership. The MOU outlines plans to work together to provide Friends organizations with information and materials they seek to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of their organizations.
Chad Brown is on the Board of the National Wildlife Refuge Association and is the President of Soul River Inc. - Runs Wild. Thank you Chad Brown for sharing this. Very powerful and important for us all to hear and understand.
Today, the President signed a Proclamation to open the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument (NCSMNM) to commercial fishing. Created in 2016, this monument is the only unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System in the Atlantic Ocean, and protects fragile and pristine deep-sea environments.
Since taking office in January 2017, President Donald Trump has made environmental deregulation and habitat destruction one of the hallmarks of his presidency. From the clear-cutting of national wildilfe refuge lands along the US/Mexico border, to the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas development, to the support for expansion of the military even further into the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, we have seen a constant and unrelenting disregard for long-standing conservation principles.
The Great American Outdoors Act, S. 3422, led by 54 Senate co-sponsors, proposes to put up to $95 million each year over the next five years towards the maintenance backlog for the National Wildlife Refuge System. It would also fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million.
Today, the Trump Administration announced a plan to allow hunters in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to hunt brown bears over bait. The goal is to drastically reduce the brown bear populations on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula to artificially boost moose populations for the benefit of hunters. This change is in complete contrast to what the Refuge System was created for: natural biodiversity and integrity of wildlife populations. If allowed to go forward, this rule could threaten the entire population of brown bears on the Kenai Peninsula. Wildlife refuges are federal lands, and should be managed by the National Wildlife Refuge System to conserve wildlife species, including brown bears. The State of Alaska manages state lands in a different manner, but that does not negate that the Kenai NWR are federal lands and should be managed as such.
We are highlighting our partnership with Partners for Conservation, an all-volunteer non-profit group established in 2008. In 2012, we recognized this group of ranchers and landowners were filling an important void in public-private partnerships and the importance of communication and collaboration in working landscapes. The Refuge Association provided the initial funding for an executive director position to help them grow as an organization.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association has an opportunity for you!! Through the generosity of some of our great Board Members, we have established the O’ Brien Prize, an annual award for our Friends groups. The prize is named after Donal O’Brien III, a past Board Chair and longtime enthusiast of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Don is a generous supporter of the great work we do for Refuges and is very impressed by the dedication and effectiveness of Refuge Friends groups.
