Community engagement and collaboration

The International Wildlife Refuge Alliance the refuge’s Friends organization, helped raise $3.5 million to build a 740-foot-long fishing pier and boat dock for the Michigan Sea Grant School. The pier is free to the public and can accommodate up to 100 anglers. 

Facilities

Aerial view looking down on two kayakers in a marsh with lots of green aquatic vegetation on surface, green forest in background
The Detroit River has long served the United States and Canada as a vital transportation corridor and center for industries that helped forge the economies of both nations. As a result of this growth, the river and its ecosystem have paid a high price for human progress. Indeed, in our mind and in...

Programs

A bright blue sky obstructed by fluffy white clouds reflected off of a stream shot from inside a kayak
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages an unparalleled network of public lands and waters called the National Wildlife Refuge System. With more than 570 refuges spanning the country, this system protects iconic species and provides some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities on Earth.
Friends of the Refuge Headwaters holding tree tubes outside.
A Friends partnership is made up of a nonprofit Friends organization and a national wildlife refuge or national fish hatchery. All refuge Friends organizations share the same primary mission: the support of a national wildlife refuge, a complex of refuges or a program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...