Written by Alice Elshoff and Gary Ivey/Photo courtesy of Alice Elshoff
Friends of Malheur Refuge was founded in 1999 to promote the conservation and appreciation of natural and cultural resources at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Forrest Cameron, Malheur Refuge Manager from 1989-1999, actually came to us and said he would like to have a Friends Group. So Gary, Cal, and I invited folks from Burns to a meeting at the Refuge. There were maybe a dozen in attendance, and we decided that day to form the group. We originally wanted the name to be Malheur Wildlife Advocates, but one staff member felt that was too “pushy”, and we became the tamer Malheur Wildlife Associates, which eventually changed to Friends of Malheur Refuge.
The Friends Group idea was sparked by a visit from the late Molly Krival, who pioneered Friends Groups in the Refuge System.
Our first major project was the parking area at the Narrows. That involved working with the State Highway Department, the Harney County road department, and the Refuge. Each contributed something: engineering design or construction equipment or fill material and boulders. The Refuge had to create a small amount of marsh habitat elsewhere to mitigate for the slight loss caused by the project. The Migratory Bird Festival contributed money toward the signage.
