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…
Read MoreFriends 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…
Read MoreFriends of the Refuge Headwaters 2024 Photo Contest Best in Show Winner Announced
The public voted for the Friends of the Refuge Headwaters’ Centennial Photo Contest “Best of Show” and we have a winner! Submitted photos were taken on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (Refuge) 100th Anniversary. The refuge, which was established in 1924 through the efforts of Will Dilg, founder of the Izaak…
Read MoreMarch 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…
Read MoreFebruary 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…
Read MoreJanuary 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…
Read MoreIce 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.…
Read MoreUpcoming Volunteer Opportunities for Refuge Kid’s Ice Fishing Event
It’s that exciting time of year where we are getting closer to our Annual Kid’s Ice Fishing Event! The event will be on Saturday, January 11th from 10 am to 12 pm at McNally Landing on Prairie Island Drive, Winona, MN 55987. Please click to see the flyer for the event and feel free to…
Read MoreSwan 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,…
Read MoreVolunteer 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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