Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

Project Titles:

Rehabilitate 3 Miles of Boundary Fences (FFS #R1BP)
Tier 2 Energy Efficiency & Tier 3 Renewable Energy Projects (FFS #R1GP)

State: Washington

Project Description: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, has overseen the completion of two facility improvement projects at the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The projects were completed using $693,000 in ARRA funding.

Northern Management Services (NMS) used the majority of the funding ($582,000) to perform a series of energy projects including the engineering of geothermal and solar energy systems. The company also improved energy efficiency at the Refuge through the installation of insulation, light fixtures, solar tubes and the replacement of outdated windows and cooling units.

“The energy projects will reduce the energy needs of the facility resulting in cost savings for the Fish and Wildlife Service and the American public,” Turnbull NWR Manager Dan Matiatos said. “The improvements and new systems will also reduce the amount of pollution, allowing the Refuge to more effectively achieve its mission to manage and protect wildlife and habitat for present and future generations of Americans.”

The push toward renewable energy is an effort embraced by NMS project manager Larry Smith, who called the geothermal engineering challenge “exciting.”

“Renewable and alternative energy seems to be the way things are going and we want to be at the forefront of that modernization effort,” Smith said.

The remainder of the funds were used by Jenks, Inc. to rehabilitate a three mile stretch of deteriorating boundary fence at the Refuge. The old boundary fence was broken and weakened to the point where it no longer restricted nearby cattle.

“The new fencing helps our neighboring landowners by more effectively preventing trespass of their livestock on to the refuge which creates additional round-up work for the landowner,” Matiatos said. “We have been forced to use staff time to round up these cattle in the past, and this takes away from our stated mission at Turnbull.”

For more information, contact Refuge Manager Dan Matiatos; dan_matiatos@fws.gov; (509) 235-4723

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