Conserving a Legacy
Learn more about our Refuge Friends and how they are leaving a lasting impact on Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
Trailhead Mural
“The mural represents nature, and it was our pleasure to take our whole family’s love for nature and put that into our support of the beautiful project.”
— Letha Ferguson 
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When the refuge was thinking about adding a mural to the landscape at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge trailhead, Friends Executive Director Aimee Arent immediately thought of the Ferguson Family as a potential sponsor for the project. She knew several family members were into birding as well as visual arts, and when asked the family was pleased to offer their full support of the project in honor of the family members they have lost over the years, all of whom have had a connection to nature.
As children growing up, the younger Ferguson siblings explored the woods and creeks near their home. Gregg especially loved to study snakes and other living creatures, while Keith enjoyed fishing. As an adult in California, Gregg turned his scientific curiosity to mushrooms, learning which are edible and the best locations to find them. He honed his skills as a photographer to record his finds, always being respectful of the natural world. Although not formally educated, he was a leading expert in the Santa Cruz area and maintained a newsletter for enthusiasts. Fishing had also been a past time of their oldest brother, Dan, who continued passing on that skill to the younger members of his family. He made many fishing trips to Canada with his sons as his father had done for him when he was a child. He took his sons, grandsons, and nephews on a yearly fishing trip to Pymatuning Reservoir. The oldest sibling, Linda, was not as devoted to fishing and camping, but she loved flowers and hummingbirds, a love passed on through the matriarch of the family, Mary. These four siblings, father, mother and step-father have all passed, sadly. But their surviving family members have a love for nature as well. Surviving siblings, Marsha (Ferguson) Penner, Letha Ferguson, step-sister Connie Faddis, and half-sister Paula Reich, along with Linda’s daughter Tammi Ventura are all avid birders and members of the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. They have been enjoying the refuge and surrounding natural places for more than a decade. Dan’s oldest daughter Lydia Horvath is an art teacher and painted a mural image on an entrance of the Visitor Center. When Aimee asked Letha whether her family would be interested in supporting a mural on the property, the family did not hesitate, and decided to honor Linda, Dan, Keith, Gregg and their parents through the project. After seeing local artist Chilly Rodriguez’s vision for the murals, the family simply requested the following be added to the planned images: a bee on a thistle – the Ferguson Scottish crest (for Dan), a mushroom (for Gregg), and a fish jumping (for Keith). The sunflower already was perfect to represent Linda and Mary. And the birds, butterfly, Blanding’s turtle and scenes of the marshes were what drew the family to the region in the first place. Photos: The Ferguson Family, 1970. From left to right pictured are Paula Reich, Keith Ferguson, Mary Ferguson Reich, Letha Ferguson, Gregg Ferguson. | Paula Reich enjoys the 8’ monarch on the west wall. |
The Fox Unit
Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge has some exciting news to share with all of you. Since 2013, the Friends group has managed a growing fund for land acquisition with the intention of working with refuge staff to identify and purchase land significant to the refuge from willing sellers. Thanks to six years of planning and securing two sizable gifts from anonymous donors, Friends of Ottawa NWR has made this dream come true.
"Friends of Ottawa NWR is elated to have this opportunity to work with a local family to support the refuge in its conservation success story,” said Aimee Arent, Executive Director. "We are so grateful to the Fox family for wanting their land to become habitat for birds and wildlife. We are honored to be a part of the Fox family’s conservation legacy.”
The 40-acre property is located directly across SR 2 from the ONWR Visitor Center. The property includes an 8-acre woodlot. You will see crops growing until funds are secured for restoration. Restoration plans will include restoring wet prairie and shrub habitat which should be excellent for birds and wildlife. The property was sold to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in April 2020, and the proceeds from the sale will be used for future land purchases in a revolving fund managed by the Friends. The long-term plan is to open the property for public recreation. The Friends will be looking for future support to help the Refuge open the Fox property and create a parking area and hiking trail.
"Friends of Ottawa NWR is elated to have this opportunity to work with a local family to support the refuge in its conservation success story,” said Aimee Arent, Executive Director. "We are so grateful to the Fox family for wanting their land to become habitat for birds and wildlife. We are honored to be a part of the Fox family’s conservation legacy.”
The 40-acre property is located directly across SR 2 from the ONWR Visitor Center. The property includes an 8-acre woodlot. You will see crops growing until funds are secured for restoration. Restoration plans will include restoring wet prairie and shrub habitat which should be excellent for birds and wildlife. The property was sold to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in April 2020, and the proceeds from the sale will be used for future land purchases in a revolving fund managed by the Friends. The long-term plan is to open the property for public recreation. The Friends will be looking for future support to help the Refuge open the Fox property and create a parking area and hiking trail.
Adding .56 Acres to the Kontz Unit
In October 2019, the Friends completed their second land purchase, a .56 acre parcel with the help of an anonymous donor. The property is located next to the Ohio Division of Wildlife Turtle Creek Fishing Access on State Route 2 near State Route 19. This parcel became part of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge's Kontz Unit on July 20, 2020. It will be managed as a wetland by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Learn more about the Land Acquisition and Restoration Fund and see how you can help with future land purchases and restoration projects.
Learn more about the Land Acquisition and Restoration Fund and see how you can help with future land purchases and restoration projects.
The Wildlife Window
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“During their 55 years of marriage, Joan & Richard Kimple’s favorite pastime was walking through parks and forests. They took long hikes in the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge - though there were few visitor facilities at the time. Before the boardwalk was built, they searched Magee Marsh for additions to their life lists. They sat in the cold along Lucas-Ottawa County Road trying to spot kettles of hawks during the fall migration. My parents traveled to many top birding spots, but loved seeing birds at their backyard feeders and in the nearby marshes, fields and forests. Their enthusiasm for birding was contagious. They organized a bird study group, planned Earth Day celebrations and shared their library. Their two granddaughters joined the excursions at early ages, delighting in the birds, snakes and shells they encountered.
When Joan died in 2015, Richard wanted to create a living tribute to her. He wanted to help provide an opportunity for people, especially children, to observe and enjoy the outdoors. Working with the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and the refuge staff, particularly Justin Woldt, the idea of a Wildlife Window was conceived. The building opened in May of 2017. This spring, cameras are being added to enrich the viewing experience. Our family is happy to partner with the Friends of ONWR on this project - and we are certain Mom would approve!” —Jennifer Shriver |
The Wildlife Window at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is located behind the Visitor Center, and features an opportunity to view birds and wildlife on feeders, in shrub habitat, and in wetland habitats. The building is open sunrise to sunset, year-round.
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The Turtle Creek Canoe Launch
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We are so honored to introduce you to members Daniel and Ruth Ann Fraser, who donated $4,000 on #givingtuesday to cover the cost of installing a canoe access point at the Turtle Creek Unit.
"We first learned about ONWR when we heard there was a wildlife drive near Lake Erie where you could watch bald eagles. Daniel is originally from British Columbia, and growing up along the North Thompson River, had seen them many times, sitting in the trees while he and his dad paddled by in a canoe. In 2016, we joined the Friends so we could take part in the first ever canoe and kayak event at the refuge, led by ranger Justin Woldt. Paddling along Crane Creek in the cedar strip canoe was such a great experience, allowing us to see parts of the reserve that are normally hidden away. That canoe is what led us to make our Giving Tuesday donation in memory of Harvey Fraser, Daniel’s dad and the canoe’s builder. Harvey never visited ONWR, but since there’s water and open sky, he would have loved it! He was an all-season outdoorsman, spending every free hour skiing in winter and canoeing in the summer. As a teenager, he helped build the famed wooden speedboats of Ontario cottage country, but the canoe was his preferred method of transportation. Harvey competed in marathon canoe races well into his 70s, and in his younger days was a member of the BC team that raced voyageur canoes across Canada in 1967 for the centennial of confederation. Everyone knew that when you visited the Frasers in the summer, you’d end up in one of the canoes Harvey had built in his workshop during a long, cold winter. In 2013, we drove to Kamloops where Harvey was in hospice care at the end of a long battle with cancer. At his request, we brought home to Michigan the cedar strip canoe that he had built in 2002. With it came many memories of past paddles, from Daniel’s high school graduation trip with his dad to the wild rivers of the Northwest Territories to a day trip here on the River Raisin in our backyard just a few years before. When the estate was finally settled this fall, we wanted to make sure that some small piece of Harvey’s paddling legacy would be remembered. So when we saw the ONWR was looking for funds to build a canoe access, we knew we had found the right place. Harvey enjoyed sharing his love of paddling with everyone he met, and we are happy to pass that opportunity along to others by making the new canoe and kayak launch on Turtle Creek a reality." --Daniel and Ruth Ann Fraser |
