HANDS DIRTY DAYS

Friends have been involved in a number of volunteer projects on ARONWR during their monthly "Hands Dirty Days" in an effort to balance the enhancing of habitat with the public access privilege to enjoy wildlife in an unmolested environment. Friends built 20 waterfowl nesting cavity boxes, placing them throughout the refuge's various ponds and wetlands. As one of the annual winter projects, a Friends survey is done on snowmobile and snowshoe to determine the box's mating-season use and to resupply with clean woodshavings that makes for optimum nesting material. Being on the fringes of the three targeted waterfowl species' summer ranges of the common goldeneye, hooded merganser, and wood duck, this effort has met with success. A real cutaway version of a used cavity nesting box, with a glassed-in view of an actual nest containing a couple of unhatched eggs surrounded by other nesting material such as down feathers, was placed on display by the Friends at the visitor center. To make this exhibit even more unique, the Friends obtained a European version of this duck nesting enclosure that is handmade in a cone-shape, basket weave material. In keeping with another one of our goals of educating the public about nature, interpretive placards explaining the entire display were written and placed by the Friends.

WOOD DUCK BOXES For more images, visit the Gallery!

DISPLAY

Friends also obtained two glass display cases and a myriad of stuffed animals that exhibit species indigenous to ARONWR. These were placed in the visitor's center. In the administrative realm, a Friends office was established at the refuge headquarters, a tri-fold brochure touting the refuge and the Friends group was written and printed by the Friends and this website was created by the Loring Job Corps student Kevin Allen.

EASTERN BLUEBIRD BOXES

The Eastern Bluebird is uncommon this far north in Maine, so the Friends constructed 16 bluebird boxes and placed them on fence posts in the former base bomb storage area that is now a large grassland habitat. This loop will be completed, adding 30 more, in hopes of establishing a perennial fly in. Other cavity nesting neotroplical birds, such as swallows, also utilize the protective housing.

BLUEBIRD NESTING BOXES For more images, visit the Gallery!

TRAIL GROOMING

Trail grooming, or maybe we should call it trail taming, is accomplished by Friends to make aesthetic forest, grassland, and waterway access easier and enjoyable. Directional signs and maps were designed, ordered, and placed on the trails by Friends. In keeping with our public educational goals, Friends have posted interpretive signage identifying tree species and other novel sites.

FRIENDS GROUP SPECIALTIES

One of our Friends members has been trained and conducts one of Maine's annual dragon fly and damsel fly survey's on ARONWR. Another friend is an Audubon bird specialist who performs bird counts; with both naturalists giving public tours on ARONWR in their specialty.

Several Friends members are active in cross-country skiing, so they pack the ARONWR trails for sport participators and sponsor a well-attended annual ski race on the refuge. Another activity that is the ARONWR's premier event is the annual Children's Fishing Derby on a refuge pond. Some years there are over 300 participants. Refuge staff and Friends work cohesively to make this event so successful. Friends also provide tours of the refuge, with many Loring Air Force Base reunions being held locally to visit their alma mater.

FUTURE PROJECTS

The future is bright for Friends as we increase in membership and look for new and innovative nature projects. We have plans to work with the refuge staff providing input, finance, and volunteer labor to finalize locations of foot and bike trails and auto tours. Nature observation platforms and blinds will be erected, a nature store stocked with educational toys, books, and ARONWR memorabilia will be sold at the visitor's center with all modest profits returned to the refuge. We will give volunteer time for controlled vegetation burns, remove invasive plan species, seed native tree plantations and as already done, give presentations at local clubs.