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 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.
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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to voluntarily restore land.
Local Groups: Find out how communities can work with refuges, wildlife, and people.
Youth: Explore paid and unpaid opportunities to learn and develop leadership skills.
Volunteering
Become a Refuge volunteer
A volunteer is anyone who assists Refuge staff with special projects, special programs or routine tasks. Refuge volunteers are welcome, especially during the field season of May through September for various projects and programs. Individual or group volunteers can help maintain the beauty of the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge.
If you are interested in volunteering at Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, please contact us.
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.
Opportunities exist near the Souris River Basin refuges to establish partnerships with sporting clubs, elementary and secondary schools, and community organizations. A strong partnership already exists between the Service and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
At regional and state levels, partnerships might be established with organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, National Audubon Society, National Wild Turkey Federation, North Dakota Wildlife Federation, wildlife societies, Delta Waterfowl and many others.
If you would like to discuss a particular type of project or if you are interested in learning more about our program, please contact us.
Education Programs
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.
Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge has a Youth Conservation Corps program that provides summer employment for youth.
The Youth Conservation Corps program is designed for young men and women to have the opportunity to do valuable refuge work while learning about wildlife and conservation of natural resources. The enrollees are involved in trail clearing, painting, installing signs, mowing and maintaining public use areas, cleaning refuge facilities, repairing and maintaining equipment, assisting with biological activities, and many other duties. In addition, youth will learn how to become a team player, learn the responsibilities of employment, learn how a wildlife refuge is operated, and learn about wildlife and wild lands.
Program Requirements
1. Youth must be 15 - 18 years old.
2. Youth must be a permanent resident of the United States or its territories or possessions.
3. Youth must not have previously participated in the YCC program.
4. Youth must have a social security number.
5. Youth must have the desire to work in the outdoors and become involved in the development and maintenance of natural resources.
6. Youth must not have a history of discipline problems.
7. Youth must be able to obtain satisfactory medical certification to indicate physical suitability for work assignments.
8. Youth must be able to obtain parental or legal guardian consent to enroll in the program.
9. Youth must be able to commute daily to the Refuge headquarters (seven miles north of Foxholm, ND or eight miles east of Carpio, ND).