Friends of Pool 9 Offer Unique Experiences for Volunteers
Part of the mission of the Friends of Pool 9, Upper Mississippi Refuge, Inc. is to provide unique, fun, and educational experiences for it’s members (membership is free.) The experiences come through volunteer efforts and occur in a variety of ways. To volunteer for any of these activities, contact Tim Loose , a member of the Friends of Pool 9 and the Wildlife Refuge Specialist, at the McGregor District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Tim’s phone number is 563-873-3423, Ext. 11 or he can be e-mailed at tim_loose@fws.gov Pool-Wide Cleanup Day – Saturday, May 1, 2010 This year’s Pool-Wide Cleanup Day has been set for Saturday, May 1st (May Day) and volunteers are invited to make plans for a very busy, beneficial and enjoyable day on the 33 mile stretch of the Mississippi River called Pool 9. Volunteers should sign up in advance by contacting their host site coordinators. Site coordinators will be posted here in March 2010 and also on the Pool Wide Cleanup page on the Friends of Pool 9 website.
This year's effort will be part of a larger May Day on the McGregor District effort to engage all communities on Pools 9, 10 and 11 to participate in the annual Mississippi River Cleanup. We hope to one day extend this effort to the entire length of the Refuge, with everyone turning out on the same day to clean their section of the River.
Eagle Nest Activity and Productivity Surveys March 28 - April 6 and May 19 - June 3 Assist Refuge personnel with a systematic pool wide search for active bald eagle nests (March 28 – April 6). This survey takes approximately 5 days to complete. Volunteers typically go along for one day. Then in late-May approximately half of the nests originally located during the Activity Survey are revisited to determine the number of eaglets that successfully made it to the fledging stage(ready to attempt first flight). This survey takes about 3 days to complete. Contact Tim Loose for further information. or to volunteer. Frog and Toad Survey April - July Have you ever wondered what all those sounds in the night are? Then you might want to consider tagging along with a pair of experienced volunteers on this year’s Frog and Toad Survey. Each Survey last 3-4 hours and is completed 3 times between April and July. For more information about the survey, contact Tim Loose. The US Fish and Wildlife Service coordinates the surveys on the Refuge and then provides the information to the States. Mourning Dove Survey - One Morning Between May 20th & 31stThis survey is best suited for an early morning person, as we have to be at Chaseburg, Wisconsin ready to start the survey at 5:00 a.m. The survey takes about 2 hours to complete, plus drive time to and from. We will drive a 20-mile route stopping every mile and listening for 3 minutes. Every mourning dove that we hear will be counted as well as all the doves seen along the route. The survey needs to be completed with the temperature above 50 degrees on a day when it is not raining and the wind velocity is below 12 miles per hour - hence the range of dates above. You do not have to have any birding skills to ride along on this survey. The Refuge Specialist will have a wealth of information to share about the wildlife seen along the way. For more information about the survey or to volunteer, contact Tim Loose. Heron Rookery Productivity Count May 19- June 3 Volunteers will assist Refuge staff in estimating the number of young produced in the two active Heron Rookeries in Pool 9. It takes about one half day per rookery to complete. Approximately 20% of the nests need to be located and counted to complete the estimate. The largest rookery is located near Blackhawk Park. Nests numbers may vary between 200 and 700 nests on any given year. A smaller rookery is located in the Reno Bottoms and contains about 150 nests. This can be a little more work than some of the other surveys. Depending on river water levels, volunteers might need chest waders. Bug spray and hats are recommended (depending upon your size, some chest waders are available.) It is a rare occasion, according to the refuge specialist, but every once in a while the birds in the nests can send an airmail package as a nervous response to your presence. It is always wise to be prepared!Aquatic Vegetation, Snail and Invertebrate Surveys conducted intermittently late-July through mid-September all day The Refuge needs volunteers to help record data. In the process, you can learn about the various species being sampled. These surveys can sometimes be repetitious and somewhat tedious, but are a very educational experience for someone who is interested in learning more about river biology. Dates depend somewhat on the phenology of the organisms. These surveys might occur anywhere on the Refuge, but transportation will be provided from the McGregor District office. Work Crews for Hiking and Canoe Trails, Observation Decks, Landings, Photo Blinds, etc. During the next few years, the Refuge will be considering the creation of several of the above structures or facilities. If you, or a service group (Scouts, School, Church, 4-H, etc.), are interested in helping to layout and/or construct these facilities, contact Tim Loose.The Refuge would like to begin to create a database of available and interested individuals or groups to work on these kind of projects.. Newsletter Writers - Quarterly The Otter’s Tale is the official newsletter of the Friends of Pool 9. Volunteers are needed to help write and edit articles. Potential columns could be a Kid’s Corner, volunteer highlights, creature feature, historic perspective (articles or interviews with people who grew up on the river and who can share their insight on the changes that have occurred), resource issues, calendar of events, recognition, etc. If interested in writing an article for the newsletter, contact either Tim Loose or John Verdon, President of the Friends of Pool 9.