Linking cities to wildlife A

Visitor Services Manager, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

merican society is more ethni- cally and socially diverse than any other time in history. We

are becoming more urbanized and stud- ies show that people are spending less and less time outdoors. With 80% of the U.S. population now living in urban areas, the challenge to ensure our natural resources are con- served and valued by the American people has become increasingly com- plex.

For the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, urban areas present a strategic opportunity to reach new audiences who don’t know about the wildlife- focused mission of the Service and its National Wildlife Refuge System. In response, the Service has launched the Urban Wildlife Conservation Program to increase relevancy of wildlife and their habitats in the hearts and minds of urban residents.

Engaging urban communities

At its core, this program seeks to engage urban communities as partners in wildlife conservation, in areas both near and far, in ways that reflect the diverse perspectives, values, and cul- tures of America. The Service recogniz- es this as both a challenge and an opportunity, and to create structure for success, has developed Standards of Excellence for Engaging Urban Audiences.

Debuted in late 2014, the Standards

offer eight tenets that will guide the Service’s future urban engagement work. The standards include bench- marks such as:  of the urban community

 to connect with urban residents

  comfortable facilities at our sites

 the community

Simple signs and graphics encourage vis- itors to connect to the land and wildlife through their creative senses.

Wildlife refuges near Portland

National wildlife refuges close to highly-populated areas provide the Service the greatest opportunity to engage new and diverse audiences. The Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA

metropolitan area is fortunate to have four national wildlife refuges at the four compass points around the metro area. Three are currently open to the public with trail and transportation features, existing and planned, that provide mul- timodal routes to innovative outdoor recreation and education experiences.

Tualatin River National Wildlife

Refuge, to the south, was established specifically as an urban refuge to con- nect large populations of people to local wildlife. Situated along Highway 99W, this refuge offers rich and diverse habi- tats supporting some of the most abun- dant and varied wildlife in the water- shed.

Accessible by car, bicycle, and city

bus, the refuge offers programs that teach young families, who may typical- ly avoid the winter rains, the joys of stomping in puddles or the wonder of watching bald eagles rear young.

Steigerwald Lake National

Wildlife Refuge, to the east, boasts the Service’s second-in-the-nation art trail. Through installation of art pieces along the path, the Gibbons Creek Interpretive

The Puddle Stompers program makes getting wet fun in the rainy winters of the

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