President's Perch

by Cheryl Hart, President

Senator Merkley’s Field Aide recently made the comment that she is looking forward to attending some of the fun events the Friends have. That made me think about how important it is for us, as a volunteer organization, to have fun while we do the important work that we do. This summer we have done a great job of doing just that.

 The latest fun event was the first annual Brews for the Birds Beer and Music Festival. Langer’s Entertainment Center in Sherwood hosted this fundraising event and partnered with us to make it a smashing success. Other community partners included Clean Water Services, Camp Bow Wow, and Tree for All. The Sherwood Rotary Club provided loyal volunteers both days.

 The bands were great! The Dudes, Accidental Folk, the New Iberians, Bridge City Blues and Filthy Skillets provided a wonderful variety of American music. The beer tent was active, food was available from Langer’s, and there were artisans and conservation partners as vendors.

 But, most important, not only did our attendees have a great time, but the volunteers did also! That made it a resounding success.

 Thank you to Bonnie Anderson, our Executive Director, who conceived the idea of a beer festival and worked with Langer’s to make it happen, along with her committee, Board member Michael Boreing and volunteer George Burnett. A special shout out to our Fish and Wildlife Service Staff, both from Tualatin River NWRC and the FWS Region 1 office, all of whom provided logistics and volunteers.

And, if you think this year’s event was great, just wait until next year. We are already brainstorming ways to make this annual event even better in 2024.

Another great event was a field trip by Service Staff and Friends Board members to Nestucca Bay NWR on the Oregon Coast to learn more about the efforts there to protect the endangered Silver-spot Butterfly. Our Project Manager, Rebecca Chuck oversaw that project for 20 years before coming to Tualatin River. Seeing the work being done at other refuges helps to connect us as a system of Wildlife Protection.

 In the less-fun arena, we are again battling to protect the hydrology of the refuge that is threatened by the granting of a permit for a gravel quarry on Tonquin Road. Our Friends group has been fighting this battle for over 10 years and will continue to take every action available to us to prevent this destruction of the delicate hydrology of the refuge units in that area, not to mention the wells of residents in the area.

 At the national level, Friends continue to seek ways to improve the funding and staffing of the National Wildlife Refuge System. With the Budget cap in place, it is unrealistic to expect that Congress will grant the increase that is needed to $1.5 Billion anytime soon but we have to make everyone aware of what is being lost and threatened by the lack of adequate refuge funding and staffing.

 The Chicken Creek Project is quickly becoming the natural free-flowing creek that was envisioned when the channels were removed, and the water flow was allowed to return to its more natural state. If you haven’t been to the refuge lately, I think you will be amazed at how it has changed since the completion of this project.

Stay cool, everyone! See you on the refuge!

-Cheryl

Focus on Friends

by Bonnie Anderson,

Executive Director

Sorry for the slight delay on this months newsletter but I was waiting to hear the final numbers on our First Annual Brews for the Birds Beer & Music Festival Benefit. The Friends earned just a little over $9,000 from our two day event. We are extremally grateful to Langer's Entertainment for their generous support and partnership. Langer's is a strong supporter of the Sherwood community and we are looking forward to a long partnership as we start to plan and grow the 2024 beer & music festival.

A special thank you to our other sponsors that include Clean Water Services, Tree For All, Sherwood Camp Bow Wow, Spence Johnston from Edward Jones, Ewing Young Distillery, Washington County Visitors Association and our own Cheryl Hart.

Another special thank you to all of the raffle donors that included Willamette Valley Winery, Tualatin River

Keepers, Kason Winery, Cascadia Pottery, Charlie Sandbo Photography

and Atrum Arte.

And... the special stars of the show.. the music

The Dudes, who donated their set to support the Friends and The Filthy Skillets, The New Iberians, Accidental Folks and Bridge City Blues that all played at a greatly reduced rate.

AND the Beer (& cider & seltzer)

Thank you to Maletis Beverage, Fort George,19 Acres Cider Co., Pelican Brewing, Portland Cider Co, Breakside Brewery, Sunriver Brewing Co., San Jaun Seltzer and Stella Artois for their generous support!

And none of this would be possible without the support of my wonderful committee that pulled all of this together in less than 3 months. Thank you to Michael Boreing and George Burnett. We also had dedicated festival volunteers that helped make sure all of our attendees had a wonderful time.

We also enjoyed having a vendor market place and conservation partners exhibit space. We look forward to growing this area next year.

Thank you to everyone that came out to support our event, I believe everyone had a wonderful time while listening to great music and supporting a good cause. Interested in helping us plan next year's event? Contact me at Info@FriendsofTualatinRefuge.org.

See ya out on the trails!

Bonnie