Written by Janelle Wicks, FOMR Director
Photo (right) of volunteers, led by Alice Elshoff, tending to the Desert Rock Garden at Refuge Headquarters.
Starting in March of every year, volunteers start to arrive. First for assignments in the Crane’s Nest Nature Store that are filled monthly through October and then periodically for Stewardship Weekends, Events, or special projects like the Artist in Residence program or Bat Surveys.
We know that our Volunteers give so much more than their time. They are sharing their talents, experience, physical and emotional energy with our organization which could quite literally not accomplish all that we do without them. And yes, they are sharing their time. Not just their time on site at the Refuge but the time it takes to plan and carry out a trip to our remote Refuge. It is no small thing to be one of the 66 volunteers that came and spent time in service to Malheur this year.
We typically break volunteer assignments into two categories; Outreach and Stewardship.
Outreach volunteers include individuals who work in the Crane’s Nest Nature Store, support the Artist in Residence Program, and assisting with events like the annual Migrate through Malheur. These folks logged 1,669.5 Hours and that does not even include individuals like Dan Streiffert, Max Rae, or Lane Wintermute who choose to share their photography with FOMR. Typically, outreach volunteers are tasked with, among other things, knowing about the Refuge and Friends group to engage with and education the public. The Crane’s Nest Nature Center & Store was able to stay open nearly every day from March 1st – October 31st and saw 6,040 visitors over those 421 days! Beyond that, sometimes Nature Store volunteers like Bailey, Jay, Wren, and Leigh will discover they live in the same small community and combine forces to share a presentation with their local bird club about their time on the Refuge and volunteering with FOMR. This is all invaluable to furthering our mission of promoting the conservation and appreciation of Malheur Refuge’s natural and cultural resources.
In 2024, FOMR hosted nine stewardship opportunities and volunteers logged 999.5 Hours! Stewardship activities kicked off in April on the Suday of the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival as a day to Give Back to the Birds. That work party will take place again in 2025, so be sure to check out https://www.migratorybirdfestival.com to learn more. Additionally, there will be at least 4 more stewardship weekends in the months of May, August, September, and October. Just like in 2024, housing will be provided to participating volunteers by FOMR at the Malheur Field Station.
New in 2025, FOMR will now be managing the volunteer assignments of the Refuge Visitor Center as a part of the Outreach program in service to Malheur NWR. We are also looking forward to digging deeper into stewardship projects like trail work, maintenance of the Desert Rock Garden, Marshall Pond rehabilitation and more. We have an exciting year ahead of us and are beyond fortunate to have volunteers in this work with us.
If you are interested in volunteering but don’t necessarily see an opportunity to share your unique skill set, please reach out to Janelle via [email protected]
NOTE: The FOMR Volunteer Program manages 6 full hook-up RV pads for volunteers and owns one trailer for volunteer use. Volunteers would benefit from a second trailer available. If you or someone you know has a camper trailer that they no longer need and would be interested in making a tax-deductible donation please contact Janelle via [email protected]
Volunteers, THANK YOU!
Michael McKeag, Janet Stuart, Doug Furr, Tory Schmidt, Alice Elshoff, Donna Owens, Clay Crofton, Mary Quackenbush, Rob Quackenbush, Robin Rose, David Vick, Brian Johnson, Steve Daggett, Lace Thornberg, Jen Haynes, Ann Hescher, Karen Edmonds, Chris Friess, Linda Craig, Katie Sorenson, Peter Olsoy, Bill Tweed, Alexa Martinez, Larry Hill, Cheryl Hunter, Jennifer Devlin, Shani Hodge, Roger Hodge, Ollie Hodge, Sandy Reed, Randy Reed, Craig Walker, Michael Imel, Emilee Gooch, Bob Luce, Sarah Kessler, Mickey Weaver, Linda Bonotto, Mike Braet, Vivane Simon-Brown, Katherine Hagerty, Josh Cline, Dan Streiffert, Berta Varble, Chris Moore, Jerry Moore, Rob Neyer, Lois Derouin, Dale Deroun, Lindsey Cline, Paul Haack, Danny Keugler, Deby DeCarlo, Michele Wolski, Jo Jefferies, Eileen Leorch, Lynn Fox, Al Huntley, Marcia Huntley, Wren Hudgins, Leigh Hudgins, Sarah Streiffert, Bailey DeIongh, Jay Williamson, Sharon Vail, Ronald Vail
