What would national wildlife refuges do without volunteers to help greet visitors, staff events, maintain trails and conserve wildlife habitat? Less. Much less.
And then there are the super volunteers 鈥� people who donate an amazing 10,000 hours or more of their time to refuges. That amounts to roughly five years of full-time work, according to the Office of Personnel Management. By a common estimate, those 10,000 hours represent a $240,000 savings to refuges.
What leads some refuge volunteers to give so much of themselves, week after week, year after year 鈥� often well past retirement age?
The answers are as varied as the people who do it. Meet a few of the National Wildlife Refuge System鈥檚 remarkable 10,000-plus-hour club members.
Chuck and Betty Mulcahy, National Elk Refuge, Wyoming 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;11,000+ hours each
Past professions: Airline ground operations (Chuck); flight attendant and dental assistant (Betty)
Volunteer tasks include: Radio track wolves and ungulates (hooved mammals); monitor trumpeter swan nests; use their skills as trained naturalists to excite visitors about refuge wildlife.
Why they volunteer: 鈥淩efuges are really jewels. It鈥檚 so good to build respect and interest for them.鈥� 鈥� Chuck
What they like best: Interacting with visitors. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never gotten blas茅 about doing what we do. I like to feel I鈥檓 seeing all of this for the first time, as many visitors are. We try to feed that passion 鈥︹€� 鈥� Chuck. 鈥淸皇冠体育app下载 for the refuge] is good for us. It鈥檚 a symbiotic relationship.鈥� 鈥� Betty
Moment to treasure: 鈥淲e climb the butte once a week and wait 鈥檛il we can see all the swans and cygnets. We mark where they are on a map.鈥� 鈥� Betty
Said of them: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e stellar volunteers 鈥� They inspire our visitors to want to know more.鈥� 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Natalie Fath, former volunteer coordinator, National Elk Refuge
Larry Fudge, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa 鈥�&苍产蝉辫; 11,000+ hours (Note: Larry Fudge retired in 2021 as a refuge volunteer.)
Past profession: Junior high school science teacher; principal; school superintendent
Volunteer tasks include: Collects and cleans harvested seeds; takes part in annual bison roundup and screening; maintains trails; promotes refuge to community groups; clears invasive trees with a chainsaw and stump grinder to help restore endangered oak savanna
Why he volunteers: 鈥淚t gives me a chance to work outside 鈥� Also, I like working with people 鈥� To show how much I appreciate them, every Monday I take a 9-by-13 pan of brownies I make and share them with refuge employees and volunteers.鈥�
Moments to treasure: When barn owls began using a nesting box he built for them. 鈥淭hat was pretty exciting.鈥�
Said of him: 鈥淎n amazing worker, dedicated and talented 鈥� a great refuge ambassador.鈥� 鈥� Nancy Corona, visitor services manager, Neal Smith Refuge
Frank McGilvrey, Patuxent Research Refuge, Maryland 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;27,000 hours (Note: Long-time Patuxent Refuge volunteer Frank McGilvrey died in June 2020. This profile was written before his death.)
Past profession: Wildlife research biologist, Patuxent Refuge
Volunteer tasks include: Weekly waterbird surveys; songbird and wood duck nest box surveys; invasive plant removal
What he likes best: 鈥淚 really enjoy working with young people. [He mentored nearly 100 interns over the years.] They鈥檙e so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.鈥�
Moments to treasure: Watching otters play. Watching a red fox catch a Canada goose. 鈥淵ou never know for sure what you鈥檙e going to find.鈥�
Advice to others on volunteering: Biological fieldwork 鈥渃an be strenuous 鈥�. You can鈥檛 mind the ticks, the deer flies, the [mo]squitoes, getting dirty, being sweaty鈥� If you鈥檙e not willing to get down and dirty, you can鈥檛 be a lot of help [in the field]鈥� As long as I鈥檓 having fun, I鈥檒l keep doing it.鈥�
Said of him: He鈥檚 鈥渁 human dynamo.鈥� 鈥� Patuxent Refuge volunteer coordinator Diana Ogilvie
Karen Yochem, Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;18,000 hours
Past profession: Secretary, state government
Volunteer tasks include: Greeting visitors; answering phones; collecting fees
Why she volunteers: 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a joy to work here. That鈥檚 why I鈥檝e stayed as long as I have.鈥�
What she likes best: 鈥淚 get to see lots of people, talk to them 鈥� We get all kinds of questions. I try to come up with the right answers.鈥�
Long view: Volunteering at the refuge has 鈥渞eally helped me as much as I鈥檝e maybe helped the refuge. It gives me a reason to get up every day 鈥� It鈥檚 just a real pretty picture down here.鈥�
Said of her: 鈥淪he is our rock.鈥� 鈥� Glynnis Nakai, project leader, Nisqually Refuge Complex
Wally and Carolyn Sternberg, Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges鈥�&苍产蝉辫;14,000+ hours each
Past professions: Power station chemist (Wally); banking and direct sales (Carolyn)
Tasks they鈥檝e handled: Maintenance; cleanup; habitat restoration; special events
Why they volunteer: 鈥淲e work as a team鈥� It鈥檚 a pretty exciting way to spend our time.鈥� 鈥� Carolyn
What they like best: 鈥淲e鈥檙e out in the country. No lights, no traffic, no noises鈥� We talk with [visitors]. I enjoy that. And the staff is great.鈥� 鈥� Carolyn. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to go back to the places and see how you鈥檙e made a difference. Especially with boardwalks; some section we had to completely rebuild.鈥� 鈥� Wally
Moment to treasure: 鈥�Air boat rides and laughing with [deputy project leader] Pon [Dixson]. Finding flying squirrels in the nest boxes. Kayaking out to Lake Pontchartrain. Overnight trips to Bayou Teche, Delta and Atchafalaya Refuges.鈥� 鈥� Carolyn and Wally
Said of them: They are 鈥渁bsolutely amazing.鈥� 鈥� Becky Larkins, supervisory refuge ranger, Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex
Jim Montgomery, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;15,000+ hours
Past profession: Biology instructor, junior college; instructor, New Mexico Military Institute
Volunteer tasks include: Monitoring lesser sandhill cranes and interior least terns; weekly crane counts and roost counts; small mammal surveys
Why he volunteers: 鈥淚 get pleasure out of doing it, and I feel like I鈥檓 doing something worthwhile 鈥� If I had [the decision] to do over, I would do it again.鈥�
Moment to treasure: 鈥淲atching 10,000 cranes take off within 30 minutes.鈥�
Said of him: 鈥淗e鈥檚 our sandhill crane expert. He鈥檚 a walking encyclopedia 鈥� a fixture to the refuge 鈥� He鈥檚 a go-to guy all the time.鈥� 鈥� Steve Alvarez, outdoor recreation planner, Bitter Lake Refuge
Reese Lukei, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;10,000 hours
Past professions: Certified public accountant and professional musician
Volunteer tasks include: Wood building (pole barns, kiosks, fishing piers; boardwalk trails) and maintenance; bird banding; supervising nine-person volunteer maintenance team; tracking raptors, including eagles and peregrine falcons; nature interpretation
Why he volunteers: 鈥淚鈥檝e always been an outdoorsman 鈥� I like nature, particularly birds. My wife says it鈥檚 an incurable disease.鈥�
What he likes best: 鈥淭he camaraderie with the guys on the crew 鈥� With every project, if there are six of us on the job, there are six opinions. As long as they do it my way, everything鈥檚 okay.鈥�
Long view: 鈥淰olunteering at a refuge is one of the most satisfying things a person can do that benefits both wildlife and people. That is why the crew has been together for 25 years鈥� Our wives renamed us Reese鈥檚 Pieces, which the guys hate. They bought us orange hats. None of us will wear them.鈥�
Said of him: 鈥淎n invaluable volunteer for over 30 years 鈥� Back Bay Refuge would be unrecognizable were it not for his dedication, hard work and love.鈥� 鈥� Erica Ryder, visitor services specialist, Back Bay Refuge