The Friends of the Upper Mississippi River Refuges is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving the natural and cultural resources of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge and the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge. Organized in 1997, we are part of a nationwide network of 220 Friends groups that support our nation’s national wildlife refuges. Our four chapters work to:

• Provide opportunities for volunteers to assist the Refuges.
• Fund or locate funding for projects and activities that enhance the Refuges (for more information about these projects see below).
• Inform elected officials about refuge issues.
• Inform the public about the benefits of the National Wildlife Refuges.
• Support the multi-use concept of our National Wildlife Refuge System.

Members get involved in a wide variety of events, such as helping with Fishing Days, the Swan Watch, Migratory Bird Day, Duck Identification events; or planting trees on refuge islands, working with populations of endangered Higgins'-Eye mussels and other habitat restoration projects; educating people about the Refuges and the Mississippi River, volunteering as visitor guides, lobbying for support and funding of the refuge system, and more.

What Have We Accomplished?

Since it was founded in 1997 the Friends of the Upper Mississippi River Refuges has provided more than $36,500 to projects that benefit the refuge, according to Dorothy Hoffmann, past FUMRR treasurer. Some of the projects include:

• Habitat projects, including native plantings and seedlings for restoration and preservation of wetlands and prairies,
• Support for creating and maintaining hiking and canoe trails,
• A purple loosestrife eradication program
• Mississippi River Festival in Prairie du Chien
• Educational aids (binoculars, portable spotting scope, insect collection nets, nature education kits)
• Environmental education programs, such as the Hooded Merganser program
• Printing the “Ducks at a Distance” and “Leave No Trace” booklets
• Refuge Week celebrations and the Centennial Week celebration this year
• With a grant from the McKnight Foundation, the Friends of the Upper Mississippi River donated two books to 80 public libraries up and down the river. Many members volunteered time this summer to read aloud to children from one of the books, Wildlife Refuge, A Classroom Adventure, by Lorraine Ward and Laura Jacques. The other book is a 258-page photographic book about the refuge system titled The Smithsonian Book of National Wildlife Refuges, by Eric Jay Dolin. Ask for it in your library.

Money to fund these projects has come directly from member dues and donations, grants and the Kwik Trip Rewards Program.

FUMRR has received grant money from: the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Audubon Society, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, McKnight Foundation, Alliant Energy, Humanities Iowa, City of Savanna, Univeristy of Minnesota, Clayton County Farm Bureau and other agencies.

The Kwik Trip Rewards Program works like this: a portion of each sale returns to the Friends whenever members who are enrolled in the program use a Kwik Trip credit card at Kwik Trip stores.

Join us today!

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