Refuge Updates

Earth Day Celebration: The Friends/Refuge will have a table at the Winona Earth Day Celebration taking place on Saturday, April 22 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help staff the table, please let Mary Stefanski ([email protected]) know if you are interested. Internship Opportunity: The Friends of Pool 9 are working with…

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Friends March Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Friends of the Refuge Headwaters will be Thursday, March 3o, beginning at 4:15 p.m. at the Refuge office (102 Walnut Street, Suite 205). Click here for a PDF of the agenda. There are some fun events coming up if you want to be part of the planning process!

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Passing of Refuge Volunteer and Friends Member Beverly Spande

With a heavy heart we wanted to share that long-time volunteer and Friends Board Member Bev Spande passed away last week. You can find her full obituary here. Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 1, 2023 at Central Lutheran Church, Winona. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. at the church. Lunch will…

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Refuge Updates

Youth Conservation Corps Crew Applications Open – The Winona District will be hiring three high school aged students (15-18) to participate in the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program again this year. Applications (attached) will be accepted through April 14, 2023. The announcement is also attached. The crew works for eight weeks, June 20 – August 11,…

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Looking for a Job this Summer?

The Winona District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (Refuge) will be hiring three high school aged students this summer to work on a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew. The YCC program will begin Tuesday, June 20 and end Friday, August 11, 2023. Crew members will work a 40-hour week, Monday…

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Refuge Centennial Photo Contest – Call for Entries

The Friends of the Refuge Headwaters (FORH) are encouraging all amateur photographers to get outside and capture the beauty of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (Refuge) for a Centennial photo contest. The Refuge, which was established in 1924 through the efforts of Will Dilg, founder of the Izaak Walton League of…

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Friends February Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Friends of the Refuge Headwaters will be Thursday, MARCH 2, beginning at 4:15 p.m. at the Refuge office (102 Walnut Street, Suite 205). Click here for a PDF of the agenda. There are some fun events coming up if you want to be part of the planning process! (The meeting…

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Volunteers Needed – Kids Ice Fishing Event

We will be offering the free Kids Ice Fishing Event again this year on Saturday, January 28, 2023 from 10:00 – noon at the McNally Boat Landing on the Prairie Island Dike in Winona, MN. We need volunteers to help kids fish, put wax worms on hooks, and take fish off the hook (hopefully). We…

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Ice Fishing for Kids

The annual Kid’s Ice Fishing Event co-sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Friends of the Refuge Headwaters is scheduled for Saturday, January 28, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the McNally Boat Landing on Prairie Island Drive, Winona, MN. This year’s event is also supported by the Eldon Skurdahl Memorial and…

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