History
The creation of the refuge was first proposed to the city of Sherwood by a local citizen in 1990. A year later, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service began looking at creating a national wildlife refuge along the Tualatin River near Sherwood at Rock Creek. The original plans called for a 2,500-acre (1,000 ha) refuge near Sherwood and Oregon Route 99W and then grew to a 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) proposal that would have unconnected parts, with the additional wetlands near Scholls to the west. To press for the creation of the proposed Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, citizens groups lobbied Congress for funding, which included a video narrated by actor Robert Wagner. Initial estimates for the completion of the project were up to 30 years at a cost of USD $10 million for land acquisitions.
In late 1992, area residents Tom Stibolt and Lisa Brenner donated the first 12 acres (4.9 ha) to the project, with the Fish and Wildlife Service then accepting the donation to officially create the refuge. They had purchased the 12 acres (49,000 m2) of woodland which adjoined their own property and donated it to the refuge. Sherwood donated the second parcel to the refuge, 1-acre (0.40 ha) in 1993. Congress approved $2 million for the project to purchase more land in November 1993. In January 1994, the Department of the Interior granted the Fish and Wildlife Service the authority to spend the money in order to begin buying land for the refuge. Congress gave the project an additional $2.5 million in 1995.
In the early years, the facility was only open to the public for a songbird festival in May and National Wildlife Refuge Week in October. A program to restore the habitat to its original state began in 1997. During that year, twenty water flow systems and dikes were added at the refuge to allow managers to flood parts of the land. The refuge grew from what was once a former dairy farm that spanned 400 acres (160 ha) to more than 800 acres (320 ha) by September 1998. In the spring of 1999, the $1.1 million system for flooding parts of the refuge was completed. In total, the refuge grew to 1,066 acres (431 ha) in 1999, and increased the number of bird species from 18 to 146. The facility was further enlarged to 1,268 acres (513 ha) in 2003, and received nearly $750,000 to build a new safe entrance to the planned visitor's area.
In November 2004, Congress appropriated $700,000 for the NWR to cover the costs of designing a public visitor’s center. By 2005 construction had progressed on public facilities at the site that included trails, observations decks, parking, and an entrance from Oregon Route 99W with plans for permanently opening to the public in 2006. In July 2005, the refuge received $3.9 million from the federal government to complete a visitor’s center and new headquarters for the facility. In February 2006, construction began on the main observation deck at the visitor’s plaza, with plans to open the refuge to the public in June.
Regular public access began on June 3, 2006, when roughly 450 acres (180 ha) of more than 1,300 acres (530 ha) of the refuge was opened on a permanent basis; Construction on the visitor’s center began later that month. In March 2007, the Wapato Lake Unit was created to the west near Gaston. In the same month, the refuge received the 2007 Sunset Magazine Environmental Award, with the magazine honoring the refuge as a "preserved paradise". The number of annual visitors to the refuge totaled 40,000 in 2007.
The Wildlife Center at the refuge was finally completed and opened in January 2008. A dedication ceremony was held at the Wildlife Center on March 29, 2008; 500 people attended the event including Congressman David Wu and author Richard Louv. In 2008, the refuge had attracted 50,000 birds in a single day, with 20,000 birds wintering in the refuge. As of December 2008, the federal government had spent $10.4 million on the refuge and it had grown to 1,358 acres (550 ha). The refuge submitted a proposal to start collecting user fees in February 2009, with a planned start date of August 2009.
Read more about this topic: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“In every election in American history both parties have their clichés. The party that has the clichés that ring true wins.”
—Newt Gingrich (b. 1943)
“The history of persecution is a history of endeavors to cheat nature, to make water run up hill, to twist a rope of sand.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)