Washington, DC – More than 120 "Friends Group" volunteers from communities near national wildlife refuges in almost all fifty states met with their legislators on Capitol Hill Monday and Tuesday to promote a funding increase for the Refuge System that would approach $16 million for fiscal year 2006. Refuge supporters sought to expand Congressional support and draw attention to the Refuge System's crippling $2-billion funding backlog.

More than 120 Refuge Friends Group volunteers gathered on Capitol Hill to visit their legislators on February 7 - 8, 2005

Evan Hirsche

The volunteers who visited Hill offices had been briefed on refuge-funding issues at the 2005 National Friends Conference by organizational representatives of CARE, the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement. CARE is a broad-based refuge-support coalition of 21 groups. Besides the National Wildlife Refuge Association, such CARE cooperators as Defenders of Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited, the Izaak Walton League of America, the National Audubon Society, the National Rifle Association, and the National Wildlife Federation participated in the briefings. While the organizations are diverse in many respects, they are united on the refuge-funding issue.

"By requesting a $16-million increase we're actually talking about holding the line on Refuge System funding," said Evan Hirsche, President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, the organizer of the Capitol Hill event. "Right now we have to run just to stand still. A $16-million increase will allow the Refuge System to avoid layoffs and reductions in services, maintain minimum protections for wildlife and habitat, prevent backsliding on gains already made, and provide for addressing the daunting backlog in future years."

The 2005 National Friends Conference, hosted by the National Wildlife Refuge Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, convened refuge supporters in a national forum designed to forge a unified voice in support of the Refuge System. More than 250 attendees participated in a variety of training workshops, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities geared toward equipping citizens with the tools necessary to make their refuges and the broader Refuge System stronger for the future.

The 100-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System is America's premier network of lands and waters set aside to conserve our country's rich diversity of wildlife. The first refuge, Florida's 5-acre Pelican Island, was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903; today the System has grown to 545 refuges in all 50 states and protects an incredible array of plant and animal species.

More than 220 national wildlife refuge Friends groups, representing an estimated 40,000 Americans, assist refuges with numerous projects that include habitat restoration, facility repair and construction, interpretive tours, and community outreach. Last year, these refuge volunteers donated the equivalent of 20 percent of refuge staff time.

"Despite the exceptional volunteer commitment throughout the country, refuges face countless obstacles arising from a lack of federal funding," added Hirsche. "Many refuges simply have no staff, no visitor facilities, no signs or brochures, and no way to protect the wildlife that the public has entrusted to their care. Without some significant funding increases in the coming years, the Refuge System faces an uncertain future."

The National Wildlife Refuge Association is the only national organization working exclusively to protect, enhance and expand the National Wildlife Refuge System. Established in 1975, the NWRA is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The organization provides a national voice for refuge staff and volunteers and for the wildlife that depend on refuges for their survival.