FRIENDS OF THE TUALATIN RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
19255 SW PACIFIC HWY, SHERWOOD, OR 97140 www.friendsoftualatinrefuge.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: THE MISSION OF FRIENDS OF THE TUALATIN RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IS TO SUPPORT THE TUALATIN RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. THE ORGANIZATION IS DEDICATED TO THE PROTECTION AND RESTORATION OF THE REFUGE FOR THE BENEFIT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE, AND FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION AND RECREATION.

This year the Friends of the Refuge made huge strides in reaching out to our surrounding communities. Members of the Friends play a pivotal role in helping the staff, Board and Refuge volunteers deliver programs and perform mission critical restoration. Volunteer hours reflect the health and commitment of this organization. Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge Complex (TRNWRC) volunteers provided over 15,000 hours this past fiscal year, the equivalent of 7 full time employees. Out of 67 National Wildlife Refuges in our Region, TRNWRC had the second highest number of volunteer hours. The Friends provided year-round staff to the Refuge to help manage and develop the programs for these volunteers. Please read through Our 2018 Annual Report to learn in greater detail what was accomplished this year, but a few of the highlights will be mentioned here. The Nature Ambassador Program has been instrumental in providing high quality and culturally appropriate educational activities into the community and welcoming diverse visitors here at the Refuge. They could be found engaging with the public at surrounding locations including summer free lunch programs, libraries and the Oregon Zoo. Thousands of school children made their way down our well worn trails this school year, joyfully learning about the natural world around them. Teachers feel the support from our knowledgeable and dedicated Naturalists who take the lead role during field trips. Special events played a key role in welcoming everyone to the Refuge. Our largest event of the year, the 22nd annual Tualatin River Bird Festival, had over 100 volunteers and 1500 visitors. The Annual Native Plant Sale with Earth Day activities had over 700 visitors. Spring break and Summer Exploration Days saw huge growth in families attending, looking for ways to get their children outside. Friends and Refuge staff, combined with hundreds of volunteers make each of these events successful and memorable. Work for 2018 was full of exciting restoration projects, involvement with partners and volunteers. We planting over 1200 trees and shrubs along the pond we refer to as the 1P wetland. We continued to engage our community with second Saturday work party projects like invasive species removal and trail maintenance. One of the most exciting new efforts for 2018 was a collaborative partnership dealing with amphibian egg mass monitoring. This was the first year since the development of the inventory and monitoring plan three years ago that the Refuge and Friends were involved in conducting volunteer egg mass surveys. These surveys will help us determine wetland usage by native species such as Red-legged frogs, Long-toed salamanders, and Pacific Chorus frogs. This has been a successful year for Natures Overlook. Gross sales for the year will exceed $50,000. The store has been stocked with quality merchandise chosen by our volunteer buyers, items that both carry appropriate messages about conservation issues and appeal to our customers.

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