About The Gorge Refuge Stewards
Who We Are and What We Do
About The Gorge Refuge Stewards
Who We Are and What We Do
The mission of the Gorge Refuge Stewards is to connect the regional community to the Gorge Refuges through partnership, public education, advocacy, and habitat restoration. We envision an engaged community that actively values natural areas.
We believe in the power of nature to teach, inspire, transform, enrich our lives, and feed our souls. And that we carry a great responsibility to protect, preserve, enhance, and restore natural areas to keep them healthy and safe for future generations to experience. We believe in exploring while restoring and sharing our passion to protect nature with our family, friends, and community.
We were founded in 2006 by Gay Leslie who had a vision and a desire to support the US Fish and Wildlife Service's efforts to conserve wildlife on the 3 wildlife refuges on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. Working closely with then Refuge Manager, Jim Clapp, Ms. Leslie convened a group of like-minded community members to volunteer their time as advocates for the Refuges, and thus the Refuge Stewards were born. Now 16+ years later, the Refuge Stewards have grown and changed from a handful of dedicated Board members to an organization which hosts yearly events like the Youth Photo Contest, and EcoBlitz, supports hundreds of volunteers who have provided over 3000 hours of their time a year, and even hired our first employee, our Volunteer Coordinator, in 2015.
Take Action! Opportunities with Our Board and Committees
Are you an individual who would like to make an impactful contribution to the protection and curation of the wildlife and lands around you? The Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards Board and Committees are a perfect way to become involved!
We’re building a diverse group that is protecting and enhancing the native species of Steigerwald Lake, Franz Lake, and Pierce National Wildlife Refuge. The board meets once per month via zoom and committees meet on an as-needed basis.
Learn more about what we’re doing and how you can be a part of this exciting team! Email us at contact@refugestewards.com
Current Board Members
Dave Pinkernell, President
Zeed Meyer, President-Elect
Dave Miller, Past-President
Randy Fortish
Brette Greenwood-Wing
Rick Jones, Treasurer
Refuge Stewards Staff
Jared Strawderman, Stewardship & Community Engagement Coordinator
Committee Chairs
Zeed Meyer - Business Committee
Jared Strawderman - Community Connections Committee
Brette Greenwood-Wing - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Dave Pinkernell - Executive Committee
Dave Pinkernell - Governance Committee
Dave Miller - Habitat Committee
Partnerships
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The mission of the Gorge Refuge Stewards is to connect the regional community to the Gorge Refuges through partnership, public education, advocacy, and habitat restoration. We envision an engaged community that actively values natural areas.
We believe in the power of nature to teach, inspire, transform, enrich our lives, and feed our souls. And that we carry a great responsibility to protect, preserve, enhance, and restore natural areas to keep them healthy and safe for future generations to experience. We believe in exploring while restoring and sharing our passion to protect nature with our family, friends, and community.
We were founded in 2006 by Gay Leslie who had a vision and a desire to support the US Fish and Wildlife Service's efforts to conserve wildlife on the 3 wildlife refuges on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. Working closely with then Refuge Manager, Jim Clapp, Ms. Leslie convened a group of like-minded community members to volunteer their time as advocates for the Refuges, and thus the Refuge Stewards were born. Now 16+ years later, the Refuge Stewards have grown and changed from a handful of dedicated Board members to an organization which hosts yearly events like the Youth Photo Contest, and EcoBlitz, supports hundreds of volunteers who have provided over 3000 hours of their time a year, and even hired our first employee, our Volunteer Coordinator, in 2015.
Take Action! Opportunities with Our Board and Committees
Are you an individual who would like to make an impactful contribution to the protection and curation of the wildlife and lands around you? The Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards Board and Committees are a perfect way to become involved!
We’re building a diverse group that is protecting and enhancing the native species of Steigerwald Lake, Franz Lake, and Pierce National Wildlife Refuge. The board meets once per month via zoom and committees meet on an as-needed basis.
Learn more about what we’re doing and how you can be a part of this exciting team! Email us at contact@refugestewards.com
Current Board Members
Dave Pinkernell, President
Zeed Meyer, President-Elect
Dave Miller, Past-President
Randy Fortish
Brette Greenwood-Wing
Rick Jones, Treasurer
Refuge Stewards Staff
Jared Strawderman, Stewardship & Community Engagement Coordinator
Committee Chairs
Zeed Meyer - Business Committee
Jared Strawderman - Community Connections Committee
Brette Greenwood-Wing - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Dave Pinkernell - Executive Committee
Dave Pinkernell - Governance Committee
Dave Miller - Habitat Committee
Partnerships
United States Fish and Wildlife Service