By Kaitlyn Rigdon
Staff Writer
EL DORADO — Amanda Wilkinson, with the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, spoke at the El Dorado Rotary Club on Monday about what she does and what is going on at the refuge.
Wilkinson has worked with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for 18 years. Her career began in Louisiana, where she worked for various wildlife refuges. She has a marketing degree from the University of New Orleans with a minor in management.
With the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Wilkinson oversees the consumptive programs, manages all special use permitting, outreach and interpretation of the refuge, writes the regulation brochures, updates social media pages and the website and she also gives talks including environmental education for children all over Arkansas. She also organizes fishing tournaments, including the 29th Annual Youth Fishing Derby, which will be held this Saturday.
The Youth Fishing Derby will take place at the Locust Ridge Pond, located off Highway 82 West. There will be a blue banner stating where to turn. On site registration is free on Saturday and begins at 6:30 a.m. The derby participants must be between 5 and 15 years of age and accompanied by an adult.
Fishing will start at 7 a.m. and will conclude at 10 a.m. Participants must provide their own fishing gear, poles, bait, chairs and ice chests.
Wilkinson also spoke about the Friends of Felsenthal group, which is a non-profit organization that volunteers their time to promoting a better understanding, appreciation and conservation of the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge. They are currently looking for new active members to join the Friends group, and have positions available on their board of directors.
Wilkinson also offers an array of environmental education programs to schools, youth groups, home schools, etc. “I have a large amount of education programs that are all standard to the core of what Arkansas teaches,” Wilkinson said. “Anything from wildlife management to water quality. And I do it in a way that is relevant to what the kids are learning in school and through fun activities.”
The Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge also has numerous research programs going on at all times. Currently, a two year population and species survey on specific types of bats is concluding.
One upcoming research program includes a study on bears. “Before we were the Natural State, Arkansas was the Bear State,” Wilkinson said.
The researchers will be administering six hair snare DNA samples, which is a noninvasive test that will collect the hair off of bears. The hair snares will be displayed all around the Felsenthal refuge, where the hair will be collected and sent off for DNA results. The research began on Tuesday and will continue for the next two years.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service follows under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is getting hit by budget cuts. “With the change in administration, they’ve decided that our money was best spent for defects, which means they have to take it from somewhere,” Wilkinson said. “We’re having to really rethink the way that we accomplish our mission.”
They are looking at seeing a lot of cuts for 2018, including 12 percent that will trickle down to refuges, she said. “Now, we’re looking at re-prioritizing. Not trying to continue to do more with less, but to do less with less,” she added.
Generally, Felsenthal provides four events throughout the year. There is a bird walk in May, the fishing derby in June, the fall festival in September and lecture series going on multiple times of the year. Last year was the first year they were not able to do the fall festival because Wilkinson did not have enough help. This year, the only event scheduled is the fishing derby. “We love to do lots of things, we just need people to help us,” Wilkinson said.
The Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge’s website is https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Felsenthal/ and their office can be contacted at 870-364-3167. Their address is 5531 Highway 82 West Crossett, Ar. 71635.
Kaitlyn Rigdon is a staff writer at the El Dorado News-Times and she may be reached at 870-862-6611 or by email, [email protected].