What’s Up With The
Coalition Of Refuge Friends And Advocates

By Joan Patterson, President, Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates (CORFA)

National Wildlife Refuge Week is celebrated the first full week of October, which is October 8th to 14th this year. If you are hosting a festival or Walk for the Wild, consider inviting your elected officials to join you. Your Members of Congress (MOC) will be working in their state or district that week.

If you haven’t previously invited your Members of Congress to your site, then check out this infographic that provides the basic steps for connecting with your MOC. Getting your lawmakers or their staff members to your site is the most effective way to get them to actively support your refuge or hatchery. As Volunteer Vinnie states, ”Connecting with Members of Congress is not as scary as it sounds and can be a lot of fun!” Click the following link to download the one-page infographic: Connecting with your members of Congress

 This infographic was created through a partnership with Coastal Refuges, the trade name of Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges. The original illustrations were done by Ronni Ochoa, and the infographic was created by Matthew Emmer. As a follow-up to this infographic, Matthew also created a flowchart about lobbying. This one-page flowchart infographic provides you with simple but useful information on what lobbying is, where you can lobby, and tracking your lobbying. Click the following link to download: A Friends Flowchart to Lobbying

Earlier this year CORFA, with advice from the National Wildlife Refuge Association, published the 2023 Recess Action Kit that provides guidance on connecting with your MOC and delivering your message. This publication is available on the CORFA website at the following link: Recess Action Kit

Refuge Week is a wonderful time to show your elected officials how important your site is to your community. Please extend them an invitation to visit your great sites.