Ways to Get Involved
Whether you want to further conservation, learn more about nature or share your love of the outdoors, you’ve come to the right place. National wildlife refuges provide many opportunities for you to help your community and fish and wildlife by doing what you love.
National wildlife refuges partner with volunteers, youth groups, landowners, neighbors, and residents to make a lasting difference.
Find out how you can help make American lands healthier and communities stronger while doing something personally satisfying.
Volunteers: Gain new experiences and meet new people while helping to advance wildlife conservation.
Friends: Join neighbors in helping refuges restore habitat and expand access to green space.
Landowners: Learn how you can partner with the Fish and Wildlife Service to voluntarily restore land.
Local Groups: Find out how communities can work with refuges better for wildlife and people.
Youth: Explore paid and unpaid opportunities to learn and develop leadership skills.
Just like the bird species vary on the Refuge, so do the opportunities to get involved. You can volunteer, work with us as a partner, or join the Friends of Bear River Refuge.
Volunteering
Discover for yourself what tens of thousands of volunteers have learned - volunteering for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fun and rewarding in many ways. Master new skills. Meet new friends. Enjoy a sense of accomplishment from doing your part to further wildlife conservation for the pleasure of generations to follow. Check out our station's latest volunteer opportunities on volunteer.gov.
Volunteering is one excellent and important way you can get involved with Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. It's a great way to get outside, get involved with wildlife conservation, and learn about birds and their habitats. We are seeking enthusiastic volunteers to fill the new assistant Ranger-Naturalist position at the world-class wildlife education center.
Youth Volunteering and Internships
Open the door to a potentially life-changing experience. If you land a student internship, fellowship, or volunteer opportunity at a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge , fish hatchery, or other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service site, you’re bound to come away with new insights and excitement about conservation. We work with American Conservation Experience or A.C.E for many of our internship opportunities. Current A.C.E. interns serve as the volunteer coordinator and biological technicians.
Volunteer Opportunities
Our Partners
Nature does not recognize human-made boundaries. In order to conserve our natural and cultural resources effectively, we must work with others to bridge these boundaries. Partnerships foster creative solutions to challenging situations and often the results are greater than the sum of the parts. Learn more about our local partners.
We are committed to building partnerships that encourage conservation of our natural and cultural resources. Scientifically-informed and technologically-based stewardship of our public lands, waters, and wildlife must be collaborative efforts between the Refuge System, other government agencies, and private organizations if conservation efforts are to succeed. The partners working together with us are listed below and are not in any particular order.
Education Programs
For Educators:
Field Trips
Environmental education and interpretation are a vital part of what we do at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. A variety of programs and events are offered throughout the year. Groups are welcome, but please call the Refuge to make a reservation before your visit.
A great way to teach children with adults about a host of ecological functions, the importance of wetlands, and the diversity of plant and animal life. Currently the Refuge does not have the staff to provide activities for all groups that come to the Refuge, but there are support materials available for groups at the Refuge office.
Teachers/Group leaders - if you are planning a field trip with your school or students, PLEASE call us in advance to schedule the trip, as we are very busy with visiting groups throughout the year and we want to strive to keep the quality of visit for all groups. Thanks.
Resource Library
Take advantage of our Resource Library to help enhance your lessons in the classroom. We have books, manuals, magazines, videos, and DVDs covering a wide variety of conservation subjects at all age levels. Feel free to call email us at bearriver@fws.gov to utilize our resource library.
Teacher Workshops
A very important part of the Refuge's environmental education program is holding workshops for local teachers and group leaders. This helps facilitate their support and teaching environmental education with Refuge and the Friends group staff during field trips, as well as helps their continuing education and dedication to excellence with in-school curriculum.
Throughout the year, the Refuge and the Friends group staff hosts many workshops, conferences and classes to keep our local educators involved and cross-trained to help us teach activities and lessons on field trips and at special events.
Ranging in topics from invasive plants to macroinvertebrate sampling and water quality, the trainings offer our teaching partners chances to continue their learning and add to their knowledge base, while helping the Refuge provide quality environmental education experiences for our visiting students.
Traveling Trunks
The Refuge has many fun and educational activities designed for teachers and educators who may not be able to visit the Refuge with their students. Ranging in subjects from water quality and predators to birds and mammals, the traveling trunks are an excellent way to learn about the Refuge and natural resources from your classroom.
Build-A-Bird Trunk
- Build-a-bird is a fun, interactive game for younger students to learn about bird adaptations. Using human tools, toys and clothing as metaphors - students "build" a bird out by dressing up one of their fellow students, each piece of clothing representing a specific and unique bird adaptation.
Migration Matters
- Migration Matters, or Migration Madness as it is sometimes called, is an exciting, outdoor game that gives the students a chance to become a migratory bird. Each student becomes a specific species of bird and runs across a field or playground set-up to be a migratory flyway. They honk and chirp and flap their wings to get safely to wetland habitat for food, water, a quick rest, and then are off again to try to reach their migration destination.
For Kids and/or Educators:
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a great place for kids and to get kids outdoors! With a variety of youth activities like our Jr. Ranger Program and self-led scavenger hunts, the Refuge is an excellent family-fun destination.
Junior Duck Stamp Program
Students, from kindergarten through twelfth grade are encouraged to enter their artistic renditions of North American waterfowl into the contest. Information on the National Junior Duck Stamp contest can be found at www.fws.gov/birds/education/junior-duck-stamp-conservation-program.php.
Junior Ranger Program
The Refuge has an active Jr. Ranger program - highlighted by our Jr. Ranger Activity backpacks. These backpacks are available for check out by children and families at our front desk, and are filled with fun tools and guides for exploring the Refuge wetlands and grasslands. There is also an activity workbook with 15 fun activities, and if participants complete at least 5, they can earn their patch and become an official Bear River Jr. Ranger.