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Sunday, October 23, 2005: Assabet River NWR Opening Celebration
This event is free and open to the general public. Click here for the Press Release describing this event. Our celebration will begin at 10 AM with a Nature Walk. This midmorning nature walk starts at the North parking lot. We will walk about 2 miles passing Puffer Pond where we will stop for lunch (bring your own) before joining the opening celebration at 1 PM. Following the opening day program a shuttle bus will return us to the North parking area. Please bring water and lunch.
Leader: Dave Lange, Friends Director, birder and member of Assabet
Keeping Track team. North parking area is reached from White Pond Road in Stow; go across the Assabet River and straight onto the refuge. The parking area is about 1/3 mile from the Assabet River. Return to the North parking area will be by shuttle bus or you may walk back. The celebration will begin at Noon and continue until 4p.m. The entrance to the event is off Hudson Road in Sudbury.
Starting at NOON, Snow Crow, Eclectic Soul, Folks and Roll band, will provide music under our tent which will be within walking distance from the Hudson Street entrance. Kids Activities including music, interpretive talks, living history demonstrations, and puppet shows, will occur simultaneously from 12-1 and 2-3. The refuge will present displays, activities and performances encouraging the conservation of our Nation’s natural resources. Special exhibits will be presented by other local conservation organizations as well. Family friendly activities will be held in the special events tents along Craven Lane which is located within walking distrance on the East side of the refuge. Come take a picture with Teddy Roosevelt or the Blue Goose, the symbol of your National Wildlife Refuge System, while enjoying the musical talents of Snow Crow. Let them encapsulate you with fun eclectic tunes while dedicating a musical tribute to wildlife conservation. If you like classic stories with morals, then the Gerwick Puppet show, might just be the thing for you. Light refreshments will be available throughout the day. Speakers and a ribbon cutting ceremony will occur from 1:00-2:00 PM. Congressman Marty Meehan has been invited. Eyes on Owls will bring wild owls to our event so you can learn more about your wild neighbors and their habitats. Come see six live owls up close! This popular program is not to be missed! NEW TRAILS will be open for this event! Parking on the Refuge, enter at the Hudson Road gate. Carpooling appreciated. March 26, 2005: Assabet River NWR Opens!The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is pleased to announce that the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) will be opening to the public on Saturday, March 26, 2005. Refuge staff and members of the Friends of the Assabet River NWR have worked long and hard towards the establishment and opening of Assabet River NWR. Assabet River NWR was established in 2000 when the U.S. Army transferred 2,230 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The refuge is located approximately 20 miles west of Boston within the towns of Hudson, Maynard, Stow and Sudbury and provides significant habitat for wildlife, including several species considered threatened or endangered by the state of Massachusetts. The Refuge System is the world’s largest collection of lands and waters set aside specifically for the conservation of wildlife and ecosystem protection. The Refuge System consists of 545 national wildlife refuges that provide important habitat for native plants and many species of mammals, birds, fish and threatened and endangered species, encompassing more than 96 million acres. Refuges provide a wide variety of recreational opportunities and many have visitor centers, wildlife trails, and environmental education programs. Nationwide, over 40 million visitors annually hunt, fish, observe and photograph wildlife or participate in interpretive activities on national wildlife refuges. Having completed long term planning referred to as our Comprehensive Conservation Plan, Assabet River NWR will be open to the public for wildlife dependent activities. Approximately 5 miles of trails will be open for wildlife observation and photography. Please join refuge staff at 10:00 a.m. at the refuge kiosk, just inside the main gate and entrance to the refuge off Hudson Road in Sudbury. Refuge Manager Debra Kimbrell-Anderson and Outdoor Recreation Planner Michael Dixon will be present to welcome and introduce you to the refuge. Members of The Friends of Assabet River NWR will also be present to talk with visitors about the refuge and the Friends group between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The Friends of Assabet River NWR have worked alongside Service staff in the establishment and preparation of the refuge for use by the public. Many hours went into removing hazards, clearing buildings and debris, and establishing trails prior to the opening of the refuge. Much of this work was accomplished by the Friends of Assabet River NWR and they have many wonderful stories to share. Current access to the refuge is through the main entrance off Hudson Road in Sudbury. From the east, head west on Hudson Road, turn north (right) into the parking lot of the Sudbury, Marlborough State Forest in Sudbury. From the west, head east on Hudson Road passing the Massachusetts State Fire Academy, turn north into the State Forest parking lot. From the North, take Rt. 27 south to Fairbanks Road, south (right) onto Fairbanks Road, follow to Hudson Road, turn right and follow directions driving west to the entrance. Additional parking and access is planned in the future. Access and user fees are planned but will be instituted at a later date. The refuge opening celebration has been rescheduled to October. We anticipate a day of celebration filled with activities including music, tours, refreshments, exhibits and guest speakers. Visit our kiosk and website often and obtain the most recent information on refuge activities and planning: http://www.fws.gov/assabetriver. We will post the date of the event as soon as it is confirmed! For further information please contact Refuge Manager Debra Kimbrell-Anderson (978) 443-4661, ext. 16 or Outdoor Recreation Planner Michael Dixon (978) 443-4661, ext. 34. We look forward to seeing you! Status of the Comprehensive Conservation PlanStaff from both the Refuge Complex and the Service's Northeast Regional Office have made proposed revisions to the Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCPs) for the Great Meadows, Oxbow and Assabet River National Wildlife Refuges. The current status of the CCPs can be found at:http://easternmanwrcomplex.fws.gov/CCP%20update.html. The Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) Update for the Great Meadows/Oxbow/Assabet River Refuges is available at: http://easternmanwrcomplex.fws.gov/CCPFinalUpdate06_04.pdf If you'd like to make comments to the Friends at this time, contact us directly at ccp@farnwr.org! We welcome any insights and comments from our members and from the public.
Additional ReferencesIf you’d like additional information about the Comprehensive Conservation Planning process, there are some excellent resources on the web: http://refugenet.org/New-issues/ccp.asp
http://www.defenders.org/habitat/refugeplan.html (introduction)
Citizen's Wildlife Refuge Planning Handbook is available at the The Defenders of Wildlife site and is an excellent overview of this process. |
