Stepping stones to nature: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge's Community Nature Center opens
May 4-RIDGEFIELD - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff, government officials and local residents gathered Sunday to celebrate the grand opening of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge's Community Nature Center.
Tanna Engdahl, spiritual leader of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, opened the ceremonies with a blessing. She said the refuge lands along the Columbia River have been home to the Cowlitz and Chinook peoples for generations.
"Long before buildings stood here, this place was, and remains, a living system of wetlands, prairies and seasonal abundance. It is a place where the people learned from the land, and where the land in turn was cared for with respect, restraint and reciprocity," Engdahl said.
More than just a building, she said the nature center represents a renewal of relationships and a shared commitment between the community, agencies and tribal nations to protect clean water and a healthy ecosystem.
The center features natural wood and large windows, which are striped to prevent bird strikes. The building has two larger, open rooms that can be used as classrooms or for events, as well as a wet lab with workstations and a sink for testing water samples or examining specimens. Along the back, a wide deck overlooks the refuge.
Bridget Fahey, acting regional director for Fish and Wildlife's Pacific region, said refuge staff worked for decades to better understand the community's needs through one-on-one meetings, small focus groups and large community forums.
"This new facility provides stepping stones for people to engage with nature in new and meaningful ways, whether they're young students visiting for the first time, lifelong birders, families seeking a place to explore or community members that may have not felt safe in outdoor spaces before," Fahey said during the ceremony.
Samantha Zeiner, operations director for Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, said visitors and residents often mentioned the need for a space with an indoor classroom for students to use during field trips. She said the center will eventually add a gift shop, interpretive displays and an interactive outdoor area.
"(Visitors) have a place to sit, hang out and enjoy nature without having to get down and dirty on the path," Zeiner said.
Washington Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, were unable to attend but their representatives joined the ribbon-cutting celebration.
"The Ridgefield community and the 120,000 visitors a year who come to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge to experience Pacific Flyway bird migrations and pristine Columbia River habitat will now have a Community Nature Center that serves as the Refuge's hub and teaches the next generation about their environment," Cantwell said in an email to The Columbian.
Cantwell, Murray and Perez worked to secure funding for the construction of the center, and the neighboring administrative building that opened in 2022. The new building's price tag was not immediately available but construction of adjacent administration building totaled about $14 million.
At Sunday's event, Ridgefield Mayor Matt Cole said the refuge is nearly synonymous with the city's identity. He said the refuge deserves a space where the environment, history, culture and people can come together.
"Before now, there hasn't been a place to truly connect people to nature, where they can learn, where they can experience and they can enjoy this incredible system and the complex around it," Cole said. "What stands behind us now in this building is a facility worthy of the work being done here and worthy of ... the people who visit this refuge every single year."
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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