Recent Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2025 (Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025)

The Friends of Patuxent is an all-volunteer group that raises funds and provides financial support for the USFWS Patuxent Research Refuge and the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center.

Donated $26,000 to the Patuxent Research Refuge (PRR) and the Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC) ($13,000 to each) for the following:

PRR

To establish a nature playspace in conjunction with the StoryTrail at the National Wildlife Visitor Center ($5,000)
To create a Historical Timeline for the Refuge to be displayed in the National Wildlife Visitor Center ($8,000)

EESC

To support internships ($9,000)
To support future needs ($4,000 donated to a restricted fund)

In response to hiring and spending freezes instituted by the Department of the Interior, the Friends reprioritized its annual budget and provided matching funding to hire two professional level interns who continued to work through the federal government shutdown and spending freeze. Friends of Patuxent provided $13,000 to the MD Dept of Service and Civic Innovation (DSCI) to fund William O’Boyle’s position and $17,000 to Conservation Legacy to fund the hiring of Erin Nealer.
Administered two grants in partnership with Patuxent Research Refuge staff:

Public Lands Alliance/VISTA grant to reforest 10 acres of refuge land at the North Tract ballfields ($19,385)
Nature Immersion grant ($14,000) for children’s programming, kayak trips, activities

Published the first ever wall calendar of the refuge, “Exploring Patuxent Research Refuge (2025) that sold very well to Friends, members, and the general public
Conducted the annual Friends Holiday Bazaar in November 2024 that produced $4,376 in net revenue
Continued to publish the Friends quarterly newsletter, Patuxent Pathways, now in its 33rd year
Won notable advocacy victories, especially the termination of the Superconducting Magnetic Levitation Train (MAGLEV) that was proposed to ‘take’ more than 30 acres of refuge land by eminent domain and have a massive impact on refuge integrity
Sponsored a Youth photo contest in the summer of 2025
Added a Grants Committee to board functions and applied for two major grants, one successful and one pending: From the MD Dept of Service and Civic Innovation for half the cost of a professional intern, and pending, from the Chesapeake Bay Trust for transportation and supplies for the children’s program Sunfish in the Classroom in conjunction with refuge staff and the Prince George’s County Public Schools
Partnered with the nonprofit group Laurel for the Patuxent and served as advisors for a full building outdoor mural on Main Street in Laurel dedicated to Dr. Chandler Robbins, illustrious alumni of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (donated $1,000)
Assisted refuge personnel with their popular and well-attended monthly Film & Speaker Programs
Conducted community outreach and Friends table events in communities around the refuge such as at the Green Spring Fling in Columbia, MD and the Laurel Main Street Days
Hosted and supported the judging and display of art for the annual Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest at the National Wildlife Visitor Center
Continued to operate the Wildlife Images Bookstore & Nature Shop in support of the refuge
Supported the refuge volunteers of the Kids Discovery Center in rearing and releasing 1,000 monarch butterflies in weekly children’s programs at the Visitor Center
The Friends of Patuxent Research Refuge maintained tireless advocacy in the fight to preserve funding and research staff for the Ecosystems Mission Areas of USGS, virtually all of which was proposed to be eliminated in the FY26 federal budget