Past News

January 20, 2021
Masks Required on Refuge
Executive order requires that masks be worn in all Federal buildings, including restrooms, and on all federal lands where social distancing cannot be maintained. This includes the Refuge trails. Masks are not required on the open beach area provided you are able to maintain physical distancing.

January 14, 2021
Friends Board Officers Elected
At today's board meeting the officers for the 2021 Board of Directors for Friends of Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge were elected. Officers are: Jason West, President; Jeanie McNamara, Vice President; Bruce Brod, Treasurer; Ellie Ausmus, Secretary.

January 2021
Primitive Trail Closed
Recent rainfall has necessitated the seasonal closure of the primitive trail at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. Please practice social distancing and wear a mask when sharing the trail with others. All visitors are asked to practice leave no trace when visiting the refuge.

November 12, 2020
Friends Annual Meeting
Today Friends held their annual meeting. 2020 Accomplishments were reviewed and board members were elected. The Friends Board of Directors for 2021 are: Ellie Ausmus, Bruce Brod, Jessie Christiansen, Linda Gutowski, Glenn Harris, Jeanie McNamara, Dan Shappie, Jason West, Judith White.

June 1, 2020
Dungeness Discovery Day Postponed
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and Friends have postponed Dungeness Discovery Day until next year. If you're interested in participating or volunteering for the event in 2021, please contact us.

May 27, 2020
Sequim High School Seniors Receive Maxwell Award
Friends of Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge presented the John and Margaret Maxwell Future of Conservation Award to Jessica Dietzman and Vita Olson of Sequim High School. You can read about them here. To learn more about the Maxwell Award click here. Please consider making a donation to support future student conservation awards.

May 2, 2020
Refuge Open
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is open to the public. Please practice physical distancing and leave-no-trace policies if you decide to visit the Refuge. All Refuge Volunteer activities are on hold. Volunteers should not wear uniforms when visiting at this time. Please note that the primitive trail is one way north.

May 1, 2020
Public Comment on Oyster Farm
US Army Corps of Engineers and WA Department of Ecology open comment period on the proposed oyster farm within Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. Comments are due by May 30, 2020. Read more here.

March 25, 2020
Refuge Not Accessible to Public
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 all Clallam County Parks, including the Dungeness Recreation Area, have CLOSED to all visitor access. Since Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge (including the Dungeness Spit) is accessed through the park, there is no access to the Refuge at this time. All volunteer onsite and group activities are on hold.

March 23, 2020
COVID-19 Update for Volunteers
Refuge trails remain open, but the Refuge office is closed to the public and volunteers. Volunteers visiting the Refuge should not be in uniform, and must maintain social distancing. The New Dungeness Light Station has closed. No access, no tours, and no restrooms.

March 18, 2020
COVID-19 Changes for Volunteers
• The Volunteer Refresher and lunch scheduled for April 3rd has been canceled.
• The New Volunteer Training originally scheduled for April 3rd has been postponed and not yet rescheduled.
• Volunteers are asked not to come to the Refuge office unless requested to do so by a staff member.
• Entrance station staffing and trail roving are suspended through the month of April.
• Other Refuge and volunteer activities may be limited or postponed.
• If you decide to come to the Refuge please practice safety protocols. Your personal safety, and the safety of those around you must be your highest priority.

March 8, 2020
The 2020 winter edition of The Brant is now available here.

March 6, 2020
The next Dungeness Discovery Day planning meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 12th at 10:00am at the Refuge conference room.

February 29, 2020
Announcing Dungeness Discovery Day, an all day educational event for kids and families: Saturday, August 1, 2020 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge focusing on the Dungeness Watershed from mountains to sea. Please contact us if your organization or business would like to sponsor or participate in this event.

February 21, 2020
The 2019 Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and Awards Ceremony was held last night. 2019 Volunteer of the Year is Tom McKinney. Tom had 407 hours of volunteer time last year and has over 950 hours in his career.

Tom McKinney is presented 2019 Volunteer of the Year Award by Jennifer Brown-Scott

Janet Bruening was presented with a very special award: Distinguished Volunteer of the Decade. Janet has nearly two decades of service with the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Janet Bruening is presented Distinguished Volunteer of the Decade Award by Jennifer Brown-Scott

Thank you to all of you that volunteer!

January 13, 2020
Clallam County Approves Oyster Farm Proposal
Clallam County has approved phase one of the oyster farm proposal. You can read the decision here.  

Autumn Brant
The Autumn edition of The Brant is available here.

 

Oyster Farm Proposal Update
Clallam County held a public hearing on November 21, 2019 seeking final public input. The decision is now pending with hearing examiner Andrew Reeves and is due on or by January 10, 2020. More information is available here.

 

Summer Brant
The summer edition of the newsletter is available here.

 

Volunteer Picnic
The annual volunteer picnic will be Thursday, October 17th at noon at the group picnic area of Dungeness County Park. Please bring a side dish to share. The Friends of Dungeness NWR will provide the main course. Also, please feel free to bring your own plate and utensils to save trash.

 

John and Margaret Maxwell Scholastic Award
John and Margaret Maxwell were honored by Friends at the annual banquet with the announcement of a scholastic award in their name: The John and Margaret Maxwell Future of Conservation Award. Read more

 

2018 Volunteer of the Year
Jessie Christiansen was awarded Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge 2018 Volunteer of the year. Jessie started volunteering in 2014 and has put in over 1,350 hours including 344 hours last year. She is very active with Weed Warriors and has been serving on the Friends Board of Directors where she is currently chair of the Environmental Restoration Committee.

 

Volunteer awarded with President’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Ron Andris began volunteering at Dungeness NWR in 2014 and in five years had amassed over 4,000 volunteer hours. Ron was Volunteer of the Year in 2017 and had 935 volunteer hours in 2018. At the awards banquet in March 2019 Ron was presented with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his service at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

 

Refuge Parking Lot Redesign
There will be a Public Information Meeting about the redesign of the Refuge parking area held at the Sequim Prairie Grange Hall on Wednesday May 15, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. Read more