Conversations on the Trail

by Ceal Craig

In January I represented the Society at a Moving Friends Forward conference held in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in rural West Virginia just west of Washington D.C.

Did you know that the Society was the second Friends group in the United States when it was formed in 1987?

Along with 200 other Friends group members and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) staff, we met for three days sharing ideas about programs, processes, and future plans for National Wildlife Refuges. Francesca Demgen, President of Friends of San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge (which includes championing Marin Islands and Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuges), and I developed a poster that we shared at the conference representing the Refuge Complex. I also shared a presentation on the collaborative efforts by the Society and Refuge Complex staff to help grow a more inclusive and diverse audience.

During the conference, we received 41.5” of snow in less than 36 hours. Remember that big storm that hit the D.C. area in late January? We ended up staying two days later than planned. A skeleton NCTC staff kept us housed, warm, and fed. While snowbound, Friends volunteers and Service staff continued to share ideas and experiences, making the most of our time together until the roads were plowed well enough to leave.

It was a memorable and productive experience. I discovered nearly all the Friends groups have similar challenges: finding volunteers for Nature Stores; building sustainable environmental education and interpretive programs that support refuge goals; engaging our total community; and finding the funds to make it all happen. All in all, an inspiring conference!

Want more? Check out www.sfbws.com and refugeassociation.org to learn more or for other ways to get involved. As always, we welcome your inputs. Send your thoughts to Ceal.Craig@sfbws.com.

Cecilia (Ceal) D. Craig, PhD

President, SFBWS Board of Directors