For Immediate Release

Washington Refuge Forced to Cut Children's Enviornmental Education Programs

Lack of funds means fewer educational opportunities at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lack of funding means that Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge can no longer provide environmental education for many local children, according to a new report released Thursday by Defenders of Wildlife. Despite a congressional mandate to promote environmental education programs at Nisqually and other wildlife refuges, inadequate federal funding has forced refuge staff to drop these programs.

Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation organization, released the “Refuges at Risk” report in advance of National Wildlife Refuge Week, October 7-14. It highlights Nisqually and nine other refuges throughout the country that are feeling the effects of years of inadequate federal funding and a failure to uphold core refuge values.

“Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is not only a haven for wildlife, but also for people living in an increasingly urbanized area,” said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. “If we expect America’s children to care about our natural resources and protect our environment in the future, refuges should be receiving sufficient funding today to educate children about how precious their environment is.”

Between 2001 and 2005, Komachin Middle School worked hand in hand with the refuge on a reforestation project designed to rejuvenate an area that had previously been logged. Each year, the entire school of 750 children would take a trip to the refuge, where they learned about the ecosystem as they assisted staff. But last year, refuge staff were forced to stop the project due to lack of funds. Komachin School had already been contributing to the costs of the project, but the refuge was unable to match those funds.

“Our annual all school science service learning trip to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge used to be a real highlight of the year for our students,” said Raven Skydancer, a science teacher at Komachin Middle School. “It was great to watch them experience wildlife, discover its habitat and lend a hand in restoring it first hand, rather than just being taught by a book in a classroom. The reforestation project had a great impact on the students we took to the refuge, and we were very sad when the staff announced that they no longer had the funds to carry it on. If we don’t teach our children to appreciate their environment, how will they know how to look after it?”

In an ironic twist, Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge has secured funds specifically designated to building a new Environmental Education Center, but due to insufficient funding for operating it, the center will not be adequately staffed.

This year’s “Refuges at Risk” report marks the 10-year anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act. This act outlines core values and standards that all national refuges should meet, including establishing a unified wildlife conservation mission. The act recognizes the importance of environmental education to foster greater understanding and appreciation of wildlife and nature among America’s youth. Defenders’ report, however, documents the slashing of refuge environmental education and other wildlife-related recreation programs.

Over the last decade, grossly inadequate federal funding for wildlife refuges has created an operations and maintenance backlog of $2.5 billion. The system is now poised to lose 20 percent of its staff nationwide.

Washington Congressman Norm Dicks, chair of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee, led efforts in the House of Representatives to begin alleviating critical refuge funding shortfalls with an infusion of over $50 million over this year’s budget.  The Senate has yet to take up their counterpart bill.

To read the full report, go to www.defenders.org/refugesatrisk

For more information, contact Raven Skydancer at 360-412-4740 or rskydancer@nthurston.k12.wa.us.

Top 10 Refuges at Risk (in alphabetical order)

Cape May NWR, NJ – Each year, thousands of migratory songbirds, including the ruby-crowned kinglet and the Nashville warbler, arrive at this crucial stopping ground for birds traveling on the Atlantic Flyway. But year after year, they arrive to find that their precious habitat is not as they left it. Illegal all-terrain vehicle use, barely hindered by the refuge’s lone refuge enforcement officer, is tearing up the habitat, disturbing nesting birds and jeopardizing their food sources.

Hailstone NWR, MT – This refuge is a vital hub for hundreds of migratory bird species that use the 300-acre lake and the surrounding area as a stopover and breeding ground. However, agricultural runoff has allowed excess salt and selenium from the soil to accumulate in the wetlands, and each year mallards, American white pelicans and hundreds of other species are harmed or even killed by the deteriorating water quality.

Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR, TX – The territories of jaguarundi and ocelot extend into Texas from Mexico, where these rare cats roam among 300 species of butterfly and more than 500 species of birds. But the cats’ territories are not bound by international borders, and their habitat is threatened by a border wall that could destroy the biological integrity of the entire region.

Nisqually NWR, WA – For years, local children living in an increasingly developed region have enjoyed and learned from this rich landscape, where pacific tree frogs chorus in the night and river otters dart after fish. Fewer children will be given this opportunity, however, as refuge staff are forced to cut back or eliminate educational programs that teach America’s future leaders how to appreciate and protect our environment.

Pea Island NWR, NC – This refuge boasts an enormous array of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, including breeding American oystercatchers and loggerhead sea turtles. A planned replacement bridge and highway would carve through the heart of refuge wetlands, requiring constant maintenance as even mild storms regularly inundate the road with sand and ocean water.

Rappahannock River Valley NWR, VA – With one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles on the East Coast, this refuge provides wildlife with an island of wilderness in a region where urban development is steadily encroaching. Without the funds to acquire available neighboring land, the refuge is at risk of bring surrounded by development, making the refuge into a decorative center piece instead of a crucial wildlife oasis.

Rhode Island NWR Complex, RI – Local children have long been taught the importance of the wildlife, habitat and ecology of Rhode Island’s five refuges that provide a haven for thousands of birds traveling the Atlantic Flyway, including hawks, falcons and songbirds. But lack of funds has forced refuge staff to cease their educational programs, despite an increasingly desperate need for environmental education in a quickly developing area.

San Luis NWR, CA – With 95 percent of California’s wetlands drained, filled or destroyed, this critical stopover and wintering grounds for migratory ducks, geese and cranes along the Pacific Flyway is a haven for the weary travelers. But the water they find there is decreasing in quality and quantity, year upon year, due to commercial competition for California’s limited water supply.

Trempealeau NWR, WI - Thousands of wood ducks and black terns share these Wisconsin skies, located at the confluence of the Trempealeau and Mississippi rivers, with monarch butterflies, blue-winged teal, hooded mergansers and tundra swans. But these native beauties are under attack from a marching army of invasive plants and animals that severely undermine the environmental health of the refuge.

Yukon Flats NWR, AK – The retreat of a bitter winter and the arrival of spring brings millions of waterfowl to the refuge, where they transform the landscape from a quiet wilderness to a chaotic courtship and breeding ground. Efforts to drill for oil and natural gas in the refuge are threatening this ancient ritual as an ill-conceived land swap aims to trade away key habitat to industrial developers.

###

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 900,000 members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.