Ways to Get Involved
From its start in 1903, the National Wildlife Refuge System owes its very existence to concerned citizens eager to protect America's natural resources. If 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 and waterfowl production areas provide many opportunities for you.
Volunteer: Gain new experiences and meet new people while helping to advance wildlife conservation.
Become a Friend: Join a Friends organization and assist with providing opportunities for visitors and improving habitat.
Landowners: Learn how you can partner with the Fish and Wildlife Service to voluntarily restore land.
Local Groups: Find out how community groups can work on national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas to make improvements.
Youth: Explore paid and unpaid opportunities to learn and develop leadership skills.
More than 200 non-profit Friends organizations support national wildlife refuges and wetland management districts. Friends members are crucial to conserving and protecting our nation’s wildlife and teaching millions of Americans that their actions today determine the conservation legacy of tomorrow.
More than 42,000 people volunteer their time and ideas each year to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Whether they work on the land, in a visitor center, or with youth, they contribute to the conservation mission that reaches back more than a century. Become a volunteer or Refuge Friend to contribute your strength on behalf of America’s natural resources.
Volunteering
Master new skills - meet new friends! Discover what thousands of volunteers have learned - volunteering for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fun and rewarding in many ways. Enjoy a sense of accomplishment from doing your part to further wildlife conservation for the pleasure of future generations. Check out our station's latest volunteer opportunities on www.volunteer.gov.
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. Learn more about our local partners.
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program boasts projects in all 52 counties of North Dakota, in cooperation with 2,753 farmers and ranchers, who have donated over $0.6 million in direct payment and hands-on work to develop new habitat and to initiate conservation-oriented agricultural practices that benefit wildlife.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to working with private landowners to conserve natural resources and maintain the economic viability of farming and ranching. To assist landowners in meeting this goal, the Service has programs that may interest you.
We provide cost share for grass seeding to be used for grazing or haying, cross fence and water developments for grazing systems, boundary fence on expired Conservation Reserve Program lands, and grass seed for seeding cropland to grass, along with many other projects. Funding is available on a first come, first served basis. The length of the agreement is a minimum of 10 years. The landowner maintains control over access, including hunting access, to their lands.
If you would like to discuss a particular type of project or if you are interested in learning more about our program, please call Dan Duchscherer at 701-768-2548 ext. 112.
Outreach
Wildlife observation, hiking, fishing, hunting, and photography are all great examples of things that people can do on Waterfowl Production Areas. To help you get started, we have a variety of educational brochures and games to choose from at our Headquarters office. We also have two "Connecting People with Nature - Let's Go Outside " backpacks that can be checked out to assist young explorers in their adventures. Each backpack includes a pair of binoculars, a bug jar, petri dishes, dip net, magnifying glass, thermometer/compass, weather window, butterfly net, kaleidoscope, forceps, field guides, writing tools, and an activity journal. The backpacks can be checked out by individuals or groups, but must be returned to the headquarters office.
Education Programs
Open the door to a potentially life-changing experience. If you land a student internship, fellowship, or volunteer opportunity at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service site, you’re bound to come away with new insights and excitement about conservation.
American Conservation Experience (ACE) Interns: 2 to 4 ACE Interns are employed annually as Biological Technicians assisting with a variety of projects including facilities and infrastructure maintenance, invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species , biological program, and grounds maintenance.Youth Conservation Corp (YCC) program - for ages 15 - 18 years: 1 to 3 YCC employees are hired annually to assist with facilities and grounds maintenance