What do fall-staging canvasbacks need on the Upper Mississippi River?

A free public event by the Wisconsin Wetlands Association Available to anyone on or off Facebook Friday, April 18, 2025, at 10:30 AM CDT The Upper Mississippi River is recognized as one of the most important fall staging areas for canvasbacks in the eastern United States. Stephen Winter, wildlife biologist for the USFWS, will use information…

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Friends present A Visit from Will Dilg

The Friends of the Refuge Headwaters (Friends) invite you to a special performance of A Visit from Will Dilg, presented by Steven Marking in an inspiring one-man stage production. The 50 minute performance will be followed by an informal Q&A with Steve and members of the Friends of the Refuge Headwaters. The presentation will be…

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March Friends Meeting

We are happy to be hosting the next Friends regular monthly meeting this Thursday, March 27th beginning at 4:15 pm in the Refuge Office (102 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Winona). Join us to learn more or to become a participant in planning upcoming events and activities on the refuge. Click here for the upcoming meeting…

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February Friends Meeting

We are happy to be hosting the next Friends regular monthly meeting this Thursday, February 27th beginning at 4:15 pm in the Refuge Office (102 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Winona). Join us to learn more or to become a participant in planning upcoming events and activities on the refuge. Click here for the upcoming meeting…

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January Friends Meeting

We are happy to be hosting the next Friends regular monthly meeting this Thursday, January 16th beginning at 4:15 pm in the Refuge Office (102 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Winona). Join us to learn more or to become a participant in planning upcoming events and activities on the refuge. Click here for the upcoming meeting…

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Ice Fishing for Kids

The annual Kid’s Ice Fishing Event this year will help celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and is scheduled for Saturday, January 11, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the McNally Boat Landing on Prairie Island Drive, Winona, MN. This event is co-sponsored by the U.S.…

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Swan Watch Update

The swans are here, along with other migrating birds, but the swans are the most impressive with their beauty, size, and when in large masses, hearing the deafening sound of their calls to one another. Take a drive to the Brownsville Wildlife Overlook, located at 13502,14286 Great River Rd, about 3 miles south of Brownsville,…

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Volunteer Thank Yous and Clean Up

Thank you to everyone who volunteered this year and to everyone who made it to the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet! You were all so great at Refuge Trivia and I should have realized that our volunteers are all geniuses! Congratulations to Bart Theiler for being the Volunteer of the Year! He helped with so many refuge events and…

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