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Standouts Honored with 2003 Refuge System Awards

The National Wildlife Refuge System Awards, sponsored by the National Wildlife Refuge Association and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, honor outstanding accomplishments by Refuge Managers, Refuge System Employees, Volunteers and Friends Groups. The 2003 recipients exemplify the depth and variety of service given in support of the Refuge System:

• Manager of the Year (Kroegel award): Michael Rearden, Yukon Delta NWR, Alaska
• Employee of the Year: Ann Blakley, National Elk Refuge, Wyoming
• Volunteer of the Year: Jim Montgomery, Bitter Lake NWR, New Mexico
• Friends Group of the Year: Friends of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland

The 2003 Volunteer and Friends Group of the Year awards were presented Feb. 1 at the Centennial Refuge Friends Conference in Washington, DC. The 2003 Refuge Manager and Employee of the Year awards were presented March 26 at the 68th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Winston-Salem, NC.

Volunteer of the Year Dr. Jim Montgomery has volunteered more than 10,000 hours at Bitter Lake NWR over the past 15 years while teaching biology full-time as a professor at the New Mexico Military Institute. His wildlife management projects include ongoing research on sandhill cranes, the endangered interior least terns and small mammals.

The contributions of Friends Group of the Year, Friends of Blackwater, reach well beyond the Chesapeake Marshlands NWRC in Maryland to serve the mid-Atlantic region, FWS Region 5, and the entire National Wildlife Refuge System. Friends volunteers provide the equivalent of 7.5 FTEs to refuge projects, including habitat restoration, educational tours and school materials, and improvements to the Visitor Center and other refuge facilities. The National Aquarium in Baltimore depends on the support of the Friends of Blackwater to implement field projects such as the extensive wetland restoration and monitoring project at Barren Island.

Mike Rearden, this year's recipient of the Paul Kroegel - Refuge Manager of the Year award, has served since 1995 as Manager of Yukon Delta NWR in Alaska, one of the largest and most complex refuges within the National Wildlife Refuge System. Mike combines wildlife management skills with cross-cultural knowledge to bring together all the interested state, federal, and Native organizations to discuss concerns and find cooperative solutions.

Employee of the Year Ann Blakley is Administrative Officer at National Elk Refuge. Ann provides critical support services that enable the team of refuge staff to more effectively accomplish crucial refuge mission priorities. Not only is she proficient in office administration, she is also skilled in working with a variety of people with complicated requirements. Her versatility and adaptability have had significant impact reaching beyond the National Elk Refuge into the local community and the entire region.

Send in your nominations for the 2004 Refuge System Awards!