Friends of the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge

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The Friends of the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge care about wildlife and their habitats. We recognize the value of wildlife refuges, and understand what a wonderful resource the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge is to Northeast Washington and the Inland Empire. We have a deep desire to support this beautiful national asset in a number of ways, and invite you to participate as well. The Refuge is located a dozen miles southeast of Colville, Washington. It includes a variety of habitats, and is a breeding ground for a variety of migratory birds and other wildlife.

 

 

To contact us:

We are using the LPONWR telephone and fax number:

Phone: 509-684-8384

Fax: 509-684-8381

E-mail: WildlifeWins@refugefriends.com

TRAIL BUILDING

The Washington Trails Association (WTA) has happily signed on to spend two more weeks at the Refuge working on the Mill Butte Loop, which they started last year. After seeing these amazing folks work last year, we have no doubt that the loop will be completed before they leave. The first WTA team (an adult work vacation) will be at the Refuge from 6/7 – 6/14 and the second team (a youth work vacation) will take over on the 14^th and stay until June 21^st. We encourage you to join them for as many of those days as you can swing. These teams are well organized and filled with trail building experience. The WTA supplies all of the tools; you just need to bring lunch and water. If you plan on attending, please go to the WTA website (http://wta.org/%7Ewta/cgi-bin/wtaweb.pl?6+tt) and sign up for the days that you will be there (there are multiple trips listed on this page – scroll down until you find the day/work party combination and then select "join".) It is important that you sign up since they need to know how much equipment to bring with them.

Thank You!

The McMEET boardwalk has been completely covered with decking! It’s exciting and gratifying to see it stretching across the wetlands. The trail is complete to McDowell lake.

This couldn’t have been done without the generous support of these fine businesses: The North Spokane Home Depot and the Colville Wal-Mart have generously helped to sponsor the construction of the McDowell Environmental Education Trail; A $3,300 grant from the American Hiking Society helped buy materials as well (Visit them at http://www.americanhiking.org/); Builders Shopping Center in Colville, gave us a price break on supplies; Hearth & Home Technologies/HNI Charitable Foundation awarded our group a $1,000 grant; The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded us a $5,000 grant; In addition, Don Lentz and the Lentz Lumber Company provided a Bobcat. Don provided both time and machinery to clear and level  the ground to define the McMEET Trail. Thanks also go to the 2007 YCC Crew for their work on the boardwalk.

The Friends of the Little Pend Oreille extend our sincere appreciation to these five businesses, the Foundation and the Society for their financial support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come visit the LPO!

This trail is waiting for your footsteps.

One of the most primitive trails awaits you. The Lehhart Meadows Trail.

BIRD HOUSE BUILDING EXTRAVAGANZA

The 2008 Birdhouse Building Extravaganza will be held on Saturday, June 21, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge southeast of Colville. Sponsored by the Friends of the LPO, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Haney Lumber and Supply, the Extravaganza is an opportunity for kids of all ages (and their parents) to come out in the morning to build a birdhouse, to go on a bird watching expedition led by a local bird expert and to have a free lunch. It'll be fun, and thanks to Haney Lumber won't cost a cent. Afterwards, participants can take their birdhouses home where they will provide birds with a great place to live for many years to come.

The morning will start at 10 a.m. with demonstrations, bird watching, and a birdhouse building session. All the wood and hardware have been graciously donated by Haney Lumber. All the builders will have to do is to select which type of bird they would like to attract, hammer together the birdhouse best suited for that species, and take it home ready to decorate and install. Tips on where best to place the birdhouse will be offered that day.

Once the birdhouses are constructed, we'll have lunch, provided free by the Friends of the LPO. Those with special dietary considerations are invited to bring a sack lunch, but diners will have both vegetarian and traditional picnic foods to choose from.

Participants should wear clothing appropriate for weather conditions. Sturdy shoes are a good idea for the bird watching expedition. Binoculars and a bird identification book will round out the experience, but are not required. A water bottle, hat and sunscreen are recommended if the day is sunny.

There is room for no more than 50 birdhouse builders at the workshop, so please RSVP by calling Rick at 685-0478 or by emailing friendslpo@gmail.com. First come, first served! Children must be accompanied by their parents or other family or friends to attend this event.