CORFA empowering Refuge Friends as nonprofit leaders

Do you know about the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus?

  • Post category:Advocacy
  • Reading time:3 mins read

The 118th Congress has reconstituted the bipartisan Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus in the House of Representatives. This is a group of Representatives who have come together to support adequate funding for refuges and promoting strategic growth through easements and targeted land acquisition and advocating for legislation to improve the Refuge System. The Caucus also aims to educate members of Congress about the increasing number of challenges facing the System through briefings and other forms of outreach.

mallard duck flying

Members of the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus work towards:

  • Ensuring the Refuge System is preserved for future generations.
  • Advocating for adequate funding.
  • Promoting beneficial legislation.
  • Supporting strategic growth.
  • Educating other members of Congress.

Your help is needed to grow this group and increase its influence in Congress to get the resources the Refuge System needs to ensure there is the habitat needed for America’s wildlife and people.

Take Action
Check to see if your member of Congress is a member of the Caucus. The National Wildlife Refuge Association has a list of members and more information on the Caucus.

If your Representative is on the list, please pick up the phone and thank them.

If not, act: call your Representative and encourage them to join the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.

To find their phone number go to https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Urge your Representative to join the Caucus by contacting Caucus Co-chairs Congressman Mike Thompson’s office or Congressman Rob Wittman’s office. This task should only take about five minutes.

We thank you for your help growing the Congressional Refuge Caucus.

Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates
National Wildlife Refuge Association

Photo credit: Krista Lundgren/USFWS

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You Just Never Know…

Successful Friends organizations consider community connections important to their success. Friends invite community members to events at the refuge or hatchery, participate in community expos and fairs, promote their site and organization in social media posts, and send newsletters—both via email and the US mail—to keep supporters informed. Of course, Friends expect results when they send out fundraising pleas, but otherwise Friends may wonder whether these other outreach activities are worth the effort involved. Sometimes, though, the benefits of those extra efforts become wonderfully clear.

The fall 2022 edition of The Link, the e-newsletter published for Friends by CORFA and the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA), featured a story about the Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Portland, OR. This story highlighted the relationship that has developed with the Tualatin Friends, the refuge, and Greenway Elementary, a nearby Title 1 school. What began as a way to supply nature-related educational materials to an underserved school has blossomed into a full-scale, in-depth environmental education program. The story included highlights and photos about the “Change Maker” projects in which students learn what they can do personally to advocate for the environment.

Several weeks after the story appeared, the Friends were contacted by a woman who lives in Seattle. Each year she and her sister help their mother select two nonprofits to receive a $2,500 grant. She stated that she had read in The Link article about the work the Friends do with Greenway School and asked for additional information about the program, as well as a list of other projects that they could assist with financially. Her family really connected with the idea of encouraging the next generation to be advocates for conservation and selected the Tualatin Friends to be the recipients of one of this year’s grants.

The e-news article connected the Tualatin Friends with this family—the connection may never have happened otherwise. Now the grant will make a difference in the lives of the Greenway students, plus it is truly a feel-good moment for all of the Friends!

Sounds like including outreach activities in your Friends New Year’s resolutions would be a good – and profitable – idea!

For examples of other educational programs conducted by Friends check out the 2022 fall edition of The Link.

Article by Sue Hix, Friends of Sherburne NWR

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Happy Holidays

  • Post category:Homepage
  • Reading time:1 mins read

We want to wish you a very happy holiday season and we look forward to continued growth and engagement of the Friends community in 2024!

Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates (CORFA)
Aimee, Cheryl, Joan, Jon, Karen, Ken, Lisa, Mark, and Sue

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Friends: Showing Off Their Stuff on Capitol Hill

  • Post category:Homepage
  • Reading time:2 mins read

CORFA on Capitol Hill
On the 15th, CORFA took part in the National Wildlife Refuge Expo on Capitol Hill. Members of USFWS, CARE, Friends of Patuxent, and CORFA came together in a House office building to show the value of the National Wildlife Refuges. CORFA shared with members of Congress and their staff the importance of the Friends community. We thank all the Friends that contributed to this video about what we do and the special places we support! I also want to thank Aimee Arent, Matthew Emmer, Lisa Jansen-Rees, Jim Nosler and Stephanie Kaufman for making our display possible!

Continue ReadingFriends: Showing Off Their Stuff on Capitol Hill

The Subtle Differences Between Friends & Volunteers: Juggling the Hats We Wear

  • Post category:Management
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Wednesday, November 15th, 2 – 3:30 pm ET

tree branch

Participants defined a Friend, Friends Volunteer, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Volunteer. They learned to distinguish the roles for each following USFWS policies for these program and tested their knowledge by participating in scenarios describing situations that may occur on hatcheries and refuges.

We would like to thank our knowledgeable presenters,

  • Jackie Jacobson, USFWS Region 6 Friends and Volunteer Coordinator
  • Helen Strackeljahn, USFWS Region 7 Friends and Volunteer Coordinator
  • Sue Hix, Friends of Sherburne NWR
Continue ReadingThe Subtle Differences Between Friends & Volunteers: Juggling the Hats We Wear