History of ONWRA

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History of ONWRA

In 1996 Larry Martin, then Manager of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, approached Chris and Mike Crofts about starting a "friends" group at the refuge. Word quickly spread to other volunteers, their friends, local groups and members of the community. In February of 1997 there was an initial meeting at the refuge headquarters. 35 people attended this meeting, most from the immediate area. Support was strong and a temporary chairperson and secretary were selected to get the group moving.

ONWRA members work hard in our bookstore to bring educational items of interest to visitors.

ONWRA members work together with the refuge to provide needed features at the refuge including a ramp so that people with wheelchairs can get onto the hiking dikes.

At the next meeting a board of directors was elected. Their first priorities were selecting a name for the group, writing a set of by-laws, setting some goals, and beginning the process of becoming a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. We were fortunate that a number of our board members had experience in these areas. We decided on Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Association as our group's name and through the efforts of Ed Pierce, we were registered as a 501(c)(3) corporation.

ONWRA members raised funds to get a six person shuttle for the refuge so that visitors who could not hike the long trails could visit the marsh. Members also volunteer to drive the shuttle. To make reservations for the shuttle call the Ottawa NWR at 419-898-0014.

Some of our first projects included producing a membership brochure, helping with special events, and putting in the ramp from the visitor parking lot at the old refuge headquarters to the top of the dike to make the walking trails even more accessible. We were successful in obtaining a grant from the National Wildlife Refuge Association to fund the ramp project and through the efforts of our members and refuge staff the project was completed.

From this beginning ONWRA has grown to 200 plus members from numerous states. The Association maintains a booth at all refuge celebrations as well as at Lake Erie Wing Watch and various Earth Day Events. ONWRA has raised money to purchase a shuttle for visitors with physical limitations to use so that they can better enjoy the refuge. Money has also been raised for new observation platforms on the refuge and for a 20x40 tent that is used at special events. We have put a small bookstore in the refuge headquarters visitor center which opened on May 11, 2007. Our newsletter, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Association Newsletter, goes out to members quarterly.

The members of ONWRA help out at the Open House by guiding visitors to the auto tour and hiking trails. Puddles the Blue Goose stops in to help.

Members of ONWRA volunteer time in the display tent at various events to promote the importance of the refuge.

As we look to the future, our opportunities to help our refuge are numerous. The Visitor Education Center is newly opened. We will continue working with staff and Friends to develop more opportunities for the public to enjoy our refuge and to help them understand why Ottawa NWR and the National Wildlife Refuge System are important parts of the environmental legacy of this country. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur often talks about the "jewels of the Lake Erie necklace" and we believe that Ottawa NWR is the crown jewel of them all!

Thank you for visiting our web site. We hope you also visit our refuge. If you are a member, please feel free to contact us with any questions/comments. We are your board of directors and we would like to know what's important to you. If you were just browsing and came across this site, we hope you are enjoying it. We hope you consider joining us. If Ottawa NWR is too far away, there are National Wildlife Refuges in all fifty states and many of them have a "Friends" group. Get involved; stay involved with your National Wildlife Refuge System!

The ONWR Association tent was purchased with funds raised by the group so that we have a place to display important literature to visitors.