The Wood Duck is the 2012 Bird of the Year

Join us for the 13th annual Birdfest in Ridgefield, Washington

October 13 & 14, 2012

Birders, Historians, Cultural Traditions, Families... BirdFest has something for everyone!

Come to the Ridgefield National Wildlife refuge, just 25 minutes north of Portland. Walk on Audubon led bird and plant tours. Learn about wildlife and natural and cultural history from experts. Reserve a spot on a tour to view Sandhill Cranes flying. Kayak on a guided paddle tour. Shop at a birders marketplace. Visit an authentic replica of a plankhouse and see demonstrations on how Native Americans lived. Sample salmon at a traditional salmon bake. Watch your children have fun for free while learning about nature at the craft stations, storytelling tent, and Audubon children's bird walks.

Check back here as the event approaches to see all that Birdfest has in store for visitors and a complete schedule of events.

Biographies of the Speakers and Refuge Staff

Gerry Ellis Gerry Ellis is an award-winning nature-environmental photojournalist—including the prestigious Visa pour L'Image for his documentary on orphaned baby African elephants, Wild Orphans—Gerry has documented the lives of endangered species, indigenous cultures and threatened ecosystems across every continent. His work has encompassed numerous long-term projects for National Audubon, World Wildlife Fund, Chevron PNG, and the Australian government. Gerry's work has appeared in myriad magazine projects for publications including the Paris Match, Ranger Rick, New York Times, GEO and National Geographic, as well as award winning book projects, including The Outdoor Traveler's Guide to Australia, America's Rainforest and several titles in the highly acclaimed children's series "Nature Watch." Gerry is founder and acting-President of the children's education nonprofit GLOBIO.

Bob Altman Bob Altman, American Bird Conservancy. Bob has been providing leadership and project management on numerous bird and habitat conservation activities in the Pacific Northwest for the last 25 years. He also works internationally with partners in Mexico and Central America on conservation of our breeding birds that winter and migrate through those areas. His efforts cover the array of conservation activities including planning, outreach and education, and research and monitoring. Some of his recent emphasis is prairie-oak bird and habitat conservation, cavity-nesting bird conservation on private land ponderosa pine forests, writing management and conservation plans for agencies and non-governmental organizations, developing population estimates and objectives for landbirds, and preparing outreach brochures on bird conservation.

Gary Slater Gary Slater founded Ecostudies Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to understanding and conserving birds and their habitats, in 2001 and serves as its research director. He received a B.S. in Wildlife Science from Purdue University and a M.S. in Wildlife Ecology (1997) from the University of Florida. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the organization, Gary has extensive experience conducting ecological research. Some of Gary's current research focuses on the reintroduction and population dynamics of cavity-nesting bird species, including the Western Bluebird and White-breasted Nuthatch in Washington State.

Nathan Reynolds Nathan Reynolds currently serves as an ecologist for the Cowlitz Tribe. He studies historic uses of the land and the different methods used by Native Americans to manage the local landscapes. Reynolds will discuss these different strategies, including use of fire in the prairie and Oak habitats which is the habitat of the white-breasted nuthatch, this year's featured bird of Birdfest and Bluegrass.

Margaret Mathewson Margaret Mathewson has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley and teaches courses at Oregon State University. She works with museums and tribes as a consultant on basketry and teaches basketry techniques and styles.

Dennis Torresdal Dennis Torresdal currently serves as the President of the Oregon Archaeological Society, a local non profit association that works with professional archaeologists in advancement of knowledge and educating the public about local archaeology. He is also a renowned flintknapper. Flintknapping is the process by which traditional tools such as arrowheads and spear points were made.

Jim Maul Jim Maul is a professional geologist and hydrogeologist with over 30 years of experience providing technical and strategic consulting advice to private industrial and municipal clients. He is an expert in the area of environmental clean-up and property restoration in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Jim is a founding board member of the Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and Ridgefield resident. Jim has a lifelong relationship with the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and Columbia River lowlands. Jim has developed a unique perspective on the geomorphology of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and will give an overview of the role the late-Pleistocene ice-age floods had on the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and its adjoining landscape.

Sam Robinson Sam Robinson was born in South Bend, Washington, on the Willapa Bay (the home of many of my Ancestors). I'm currently serving my second term as Vice Chairman of the Chinook Tribe. I am also a member of our Chinook Canoe Family, which allows me to spend many hours on the waters traveling with our Ancestors. I also enjoy the drumming of our songs as we travel. My involvement with the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge became much stronger after the discovery of the location of Cathlapotle. I serve on the U of W Native American Advisory Board, and I have worked with Clark College in preparation for their celebration of Native American month. I'm also a member of the board for the Title Seven program (Indian Education) at the Evergreen School District.

Lynn Cornelius Lynn Cornelius is the Habitat Restoration Coordinator for the Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Lynn works on the Refuge alongside Refuge staff and with many dedicated volunteers to improve habitat conditions through invasive plant control, native plantings, and other activities. Lynn has worked in habitat restoration on the Refuge for the past 5 years and as a natural areas land manager in southwest Washington and conservation field biologist in Washington and Oregon for more than 25 years. He is knowledgeable in native plants and plant ecology. He grew up in Clark County. B.A. in Biology, Western Washington University: 1973.

Jim Danzenbaker I have been a birder since I was 6 years old in New Jersey and have birded across the U.S. and many countries since then. However, I call Ridgefield NWR my home turf and visit every chance I get. I have led birding tours to many different South and Central American countries and, currently, I lead natural history trips to Panama. Also, I’m a Staff Naturalist on a Falklands-South Georgia-Antarctic eco-tourism cruise. My birding history has allowed me to experience the full range of optics from my first cheap binoculars to high end optics that allow crystal clear views without eye strain. Digiscoping has opened up a whole new area of interest and I am happy to share my knowledge of this marriage of a spotting scope and camera. I am currently the Sales Manager for the Americas at Kowa Sports Optics and I live in Battle Ground, WA.

Gail Alexander After raising my son and spending 30 privileged, wonderful yrs. as a provider in health care, I moved to my home on Lake River, Ridgefield Wa. in 2003. Inspired to connect people to the RNWR and water trails, I established Ridgefield Kayak in 2005.

Refuge Manager - Chris Lapp has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in North Dakota, California, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and now Washington the past 20 years as a biologist and manager. Starting out as a research biologist for the Service’s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center working on breeding and wintering studies on waterfowl, Chris has gone onto implementing numerous studies and managing a variety of habitats on wildlife refuges to support waterfowl, waterbirds, shorebirds, and neotropical landbirds. He has implemented countless habitat restoration projects with budgets in excess of $1,000,000 and was part of the initial development and construction of visitor service facilities at Tualatin River NWR in Oregon. Chris currently serves as overall manager of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Mr. Lapp received his BS degree in Wildlife Management in 1988 from Evergreen State University in Washington.

Randy Hill Randy Hill has been the Deputy Refuge Manager for the Ridgefield NWR Complex since February 2010. After receiving a B.S. degree in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University in 1977, he spent most of 30 years as a Wildlife Biologist with several federal agencies, including US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation before landing at Columbia NWR in 1990. With an interest in birds for more than 45 years, work opportunities in CA, AZ, NM, MN, and ND as well as WA broadened his view and understanding of birds. Randy served as "co-President" of Mesilla Valley Audubon, President of the Bismarck-Mandan Bird Club, and served five years on the board of the Washington Ornithological Society, including two years as President. He also helped coordinate the Othello Sandhill Crane Festival for 13 years.

Eric Anderson Between terms at Western Oregon State College, I held both seasonal fire fighter jobs and volunteer positions with Malheur NWR. Upon graduation I volunteered at Imperial NWR, leading recreation programs. These experiences parlayed into employment with the National Biological Survey, studying flycatchers in OR and CO. In 1994 I was thrilled to find seasonal employment near home at Ridgefield NWR, which has turned into a career. I'm fascinated with sandhill cranes, songbirds, dusky Canada geese, and amphibians. In my own small way, I'm proud to have contributed to the appreciation of and conservation of these species.

Katie Harrison is the Plankhouse Coordinator. Katie has 7 years of experience in museums and informal learning environments in a variety of capacities. After completing her undergraduate degree in Anthropology she worked in an Egyptian Museum in San Jose, CA first as a tour guide, then as head of museum programs. She went on to earn her Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Washington where she had the opportunity to catalog collections for a small historical society, design publications for the museum studies program, develop interpretive tools for a safari lodge in Tanzania, Africa, and create class-room based, curriculum aligned activities for a small National Park in the heart of downtown Seattle.

Josie Finley is the Park Ranger/Volunteer Coordinator for the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. She has been in her current position for three years but has worked at the Refuge for the last 6 years engaged in a variety of projects including habitat restoration, the hunt program, and other visitor services related duties. She also currently runs the Refuge's environmental education programs for school age children. Josie has a BA in Environmental Studies from the Evergreen State College and is currently working toward a MA in Zoology through the University of Miami, Ohio.

Marguerite Hills is the former Executive Director of Friends of RNWR retired from a 28-year career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Refuge System in 2005. She served as Biologist at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge from 1985 to 1994. She returned to the Portland area in 2002 to serve as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Regional specialist on Refuge Friends groups, volunteers, and visitor services. She provides support and expertise to other Friends groups on topics such as organizational development, capacity building and strategic planning. She is passionate about National Wildlife Refuges and is the Pacific Regional Representative for the nonprofit National Wildlife Refuge Association.

Russ Roseberry was an educator for 36 years. 24 of those years in the science classroom, 9 years as a high school administrator and 3 years in human resources. He is currently finishing his eighth year on the Friends board. Russ is the president of the board and has held that position for four years. The Ridgefield Refuge was part of his science classroom resource when he was teaching Biology.

We look forward to seeing you at BirdFest this year!