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 by doing what you love. National wildlife refuges partner with volunteers, youth groups, landowners, neighbors and residents of urban and coastal communities to make a lasting difference. Find out how you can help make American lands healthier and communities stronger while doing something personally satisfying.  

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.  

San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge utilizes volunteers for all aspects of its operation, including maintenance, habitat restoration, biological surveys and more. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the refuge volunteer coordinator Olyvia Childress. 

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.  

Partnerships with the Refuge System bring innovative approaches to solving land management issues in the most protective manner. Scientifically informed and technologically-based stewardship of our public lands, water, wildlife and special places must be a collaborative effort between the Refuge System, private landowners and organizations, and other government agencies if conservation efforts are to succeed.  

Throughout the history of San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, staff have worked with many area landowners in the United States and Mexico to complete conservation or restoration projects on their lands including the following:  

  • Cuenca los Ojos Fundación   
  • Malpai Borderlands Group 
  • Slaughter Ranch 
  • Rebuilding a Pond 
  • Chiricahua Leopard Frogs  

Partners for Fish and Wildlife is a program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that has been restoring and enhancing fish and wildlife habitat on private lands. It provides cost-sharing and technical assistance to non-federal landowners, including private landowners, local governments, Native American Tribes, educational institutions, and other entities. The program generally involves wetland, grassland and riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

Learn more about riparian restoration efforts. 

Outreach

Make a difference for desert wildlife! Everyone can help by making little changes at home. Some examples of simple things that your family can do are: 

  • Turn the water off when brushing your teeth or washing your hands. 
  • Water lawns or outside plants and gardens before 10 am and after 5 pm. 
  • Wash full loads when doing your laundry.  
  • Use cold water whenever possible for laundry. 
  • Hang laundry outside to dry when weather permits. 
  • Keep cats as indoor-only pets. 
  • Put up bird feeders, including for the hummingbirds. 
  • Plant pollinator friendly native plants around your home. 

You can also: 

Purchase a Federal Duck Stamp 

Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, commonly known as “Duck Stamps,” are pictorial stamps produced by the U.S. Postal Service for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They were originally created in 1934 as the federal licenses required for hunting migratory waterfowl. Today, Federal Duck Stamps are a vital tool for wetland conservation. Ninety-eight cents out of every dollar generated by the sales of Duck Stamps goes directly to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

Get a Pass! 

The America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass covers recreation opportunities on public lands managed by four Department of the Interior agencies – the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation, and by the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service. One hundred percent of the revenue derived from passes sold at federal recreation sites will directly benefit the selling agency and no less than 80 percent of the revenue will remain at the site where the pass was sold. The pass applies to those locations that currently have entrance or standard amenity fees. 

Education Programs

Open the door to a potentially life-changing experience. If you land a student internship, a fellowship or a 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.  

San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge invites educators to bring their school or classroom to the refuge for an outdoor educational experience. If you are interested in scheduling a class field trip, interpretive tour, or environmental education activity for your class, please contact the refuge. Refuge staff and volunteers are also often available to come to your school. There is no charge and programs are designed for students of all ages, kindergarten through college.