If you like to bird at Ridgefield NWR or know folks
who like to bird there you now have what may be your
best opportunity to offer your suggestions for
improvements at Ridgefield.

Comments and suggestions for improvements, changes,
etc must be received at Ridgefield NWR by November 3,
2006.

At a 9-20-06 meeting regarding their long range plan,
Refuge Staff solicited comments from interested users
of Ridgefield.

Most birders love using NWRs, respect the jobs that
their staffs do and have an understanding that money
is usually tight, staff are frequently overworked, and
many refuges are understaffed. I am however also of
the opinion that the refuges I have visited, including
Ridgefield, limit public access more than is
necessary.

NOW is the time to comment. Please, either ?sign on?
to my petition comments, or speak up and comment on
your own, while this plan is being put together rather
than after it has been finalized.

If you are not inclined to comment on your own, but
wish to ?sign on? to the comments I?m making, and
hereby soliciting, and will be collecting and emailing
or hand delivering by the November 3, 2006 deadline,
please email me off line with your suggestions.

I also suggest posting your ideas or suggestions to
Tweeters, OBOL, or both, in order to keep this
important suggestion collection process going until
the end of October.

Please also tell me if I may add your name to the
bottom of the comments form. I believe that the more
names we can add (petition style), the better our
comments may be received. As of this post, I have
permission to add only about half a dozen names to my
comments.

If you have friends who enjoy Ridgefield, but do not
read Tweeters or OBOL, please discuss this with them
and ask their permission for me to add their names to
my petition comments.

A few annual numbers obtained at the September 20,
2006 meeting:
Estimated users of the River ?S? Unit drive loop =
65,200
Estimated users of the Kiwa Trail = 6,200
Estimated hunters = 2,100
Estimated visits by wildlife photographers = 4,800

COMMENTS COLLECTED SO FAR FOR SUBMISSION TO RNWR:

1.) MORE TURNOUTS throughout the entire River ?S?
Unit, especially in wooded areas. This could be (and
should be) accomplished without removal of any trees.

2.) KIWA TRAIL ACCESS ON SUNDAYS could easily be
allowed between October 1 and April 30. Hunt days
are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. This leaves
Sunday as a potential Kiwa Trail use day while still
preserving a waterfowl rest day between hunt days.

3.) ROTH UNIT FOOT ACCESS TO THE WOODLANDS could be
allowed on the same schedule as Kiwa Trail access
including point #2 above.

4.) MORE OUT-OF-CAR AREAS could be designated between
October 1 and April 30 such that people observing
could more easily use photography telephoto lenses and
spotting scopes from various vantage points around the
River S Unit. These areas could be easily marked such
that all parties would find it easy to obey the rules.


5.) IMPROVE OBSERVATION BLIND for observation,
telephoto lens photography, spotting scopes and
binoculars by removing the horizontal wooden ?bars? in
the windows. Either remove them altogether, or remove
every other vertical one. This replacement blind,
while well intended, is lacking in at least this
regard creating a diminished experience for short
observers, photographic telephoto lenses and spotting
scopes.

A second improvement at this blind would involve minor
tree pruning off to the left side in order to open up
the view to that side. There appears to be reduced
visibility to the left relative to the previous blind.

A third improvement for observation here would be to
modify Rest Lake such that some added open water is
closer to the blind. Perhaps one or more modest
channels with some small open water areas would allow
birds to be closer to the blind and be observed by
more people.

6.) FOOT ACCESS ALONG DIKES AND SERVICE ROADS could
easily be allowed in open season and on Sundays during
hunting season. If people can not walk on all the
dikes and service roads, then the more access that can
be added, the better. Obvious minimal access in this
regard would be to allow dike access for some distance
N and S from the Refuge entrance near the vehicle
bridge that goes from the railroad track area and
crosses Lake River. If the dike extends all the way
around the River ?S? Unit along Lake River and along
Bachelor Slough, access to all of it would be
desirable.

7.) MANAGE SOME OBSERVABLE AREA(S) FOR SHORE BIRDS by
consulting knowledgeable birders and other folks and
taking specific steps to increase this type of
habitat.

8.) OBSERVATION PLATFORM STRUCTURES could be added.
These would not be blinds. Any new structure should
at least gain a one-story increase (if not more) in
height over the ground level to provide good vantage
for vista observation, photography and bird watching.
There are many functional examples in Washington and
Oregon.

Suggested locations should be solicited, but several
sites seem obvious:

a) Near the southeasterly corner of Rest Lake where
the road makes an almost 90 degree turn northerly and
begins paralleling the easterly side of the lake.

b) In the vicinity of the threesome of trees on the
easterly side of Rest Lake. This site is approximately
at the midpoint of the lake from a N-S standpoint.

c) Just N of the existing blind and more toward the
edge of Rest Lake, perhaps adjacent to the tree line
or in the gap between the northernmost tree and the
rest of that woodland. This could be accomplished
without tree removal and would allow this observation
platform to avoid being out in the open.

9.) ADDITIONAL TOILET(S) should be added. At a
minimum, one at the southeasterly corner of Rest Lake
where the road makes an almost 90 degree turn
northerly and begins paralleling the easterly side of
the lake. It is one thing for males to water bushes,
but a significant number of women prefer facilities
other than bushes. Currently, once people are past
the blind and below the Kiwa entrance area, they must
stop what they are doing and drive all the way to the
end/entrance, wasting gasoline and time.

10.) FEE-FREE PARKING ZONE near the entrance for
folks who arrive separately, park one of their cars
and then ride around together. Fees begin October 16,
2006 and will be $3/day or $15/year. A National Parks
Pass + Golden Eagle ($65/yr) or NP Golden Age Passport
(age 62+ $10 one time charge) will get you in free,
though I understand you may still need to complete an
entrance form logging the ID number from your card.

11.) ACCESS TO BACHELOR ISLAND could be allowed in
part, at some time(s) during the year. It is
difficult to understand why this habitat needs to be
off limits twelve months of the year. Goose quiet
zones are understandable, as are
reasonable sized off limit buffers around the Heron &
Egret colony. The Heron colony across from Vancouver
Lake Park is an example of a viewable colony.

More information can be found at:
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/RNWRHome.htm

The Comment Form can be downloaded at:
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/Images/RNWRCommentForm.pdf

Comments can be made by:

a) Faxing to (360) 887-4109,

b) Mailing to Project Leader, Ridgefield NWR, PO Box
457, Ridgefield, WA 98642

c) Emailing to FW1PlanningComments at fws.gov (please
put Ridgefield NWR CCP in te subject line)

OR

d) Emailing me and I will add them to my petition
comments

bill clemons
SW of Portland in Mtn Park
willclemons AT yahoo.com

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