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.

From volunteer activities to student internship positions and public events, there are a number of ways to get involved and enjoy a productive and rewarding experience. Contact the refuge for more information.

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. Opportunities and activities vary and range from helping with a group native vegetation planting day to assisting with trail trimming and facility upkeep. Contact the refuge for information about volunteer opportunities.

Volunteers planting native vegetation on the refuge.

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. The refuge works with a broad range of partners on a diversity of activities including habitat restoration projects, endangered species recovery activities, and the administration of public use programs.

Outreach

The refuge conducts a formal environmental education program for all grade levels. Our visitor center’s indoor classroom, and outdoor amphitheater and wetland are well-suited to support quality curriculum-based field trips for schools and other groups. By appointment, refuge staff can provide guided field trips for schools and other organized groups. Field trips may include, but are not limited to, guided nature walks, scavenger hunts, hands-on learning in our exhibit hall, hands-on learning stations for outside activities, and a wildlife viewing “safari” around one of the auto tour routes. Please phone the refuge office for more details or to schedule a field trip.

We conduct guided interpretive programs, nature walks, and other special events for the public throughout the year. Visit the Upcoming Events section to learn about scheduled events.

Refuge staff are also available to provide presentations within the local community to schools and service groups, depending on availability.  Phone the refuge to request a speaker or presentation about wildlife.

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.

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, fish hatchery or other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service site, you’re bound to come away with new insights and excitement about conservation. Contact the refuge for information about student internship positions and the Youth Conservation Corps program for local high school students.