There are many ways to become involved with Malheur through Portland Audubon. Sign up to receive updates and opportunities to stay informed on ways you can support Malheur through volunteer efforts, trips, advocacy, and more. 
 
 
 
 There are many ways to become involved with Malheur through Portland Audubon. Sign up to receive updates and opportunities to stay informed on ways you can support the refuge through volunteer efforts, trips, advocacy, and more. 
 
 Click here to receive updates on: Upcoming volunteer opportunities to help clean up and restore Malheur 
 
 Activist and advocacy opportunities to help Malheur in its restoration efforts 
 
 Upcoming trips to Malheur 
 
 Updates on the progress of the refuge 
 
 Upcoming talks and discussions on the current status and future of Malheur 
 
 
 
 
 
 Today, Portland Audubon's connection to the refuge remains strong. We fund an avian intern at Malheur every spring. We actively participate in the development and implementation of Malheur's long-term management plan. We have worked directly with refuge staff on developing avian monitoring programs. We are an active participant in the Harney Basin Wetlands Initiative which brings together many stakeholders including the local community, tribes, conservation groups and local, state and federal agencies, all committed to improving the ecological health of the refuge and the surrounding lands. 
 
 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most important bird refuges in the United States. The illegal armed occupation has increased awareness of this incredible place, the wildlife that depends on it, and the community that surrounds it. Portland Audubon's relationship with the refuge dates back to its founding in 1902. Important work to support the refuge has been occurring even during the armed occupation and will continue long after the occupation is nothing more than a bad memory. 

 Join the Oregon Natural Desert Association in committing to volunteer your time toward restoration of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. 
 
 It is our sincere hope that the hostile takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge is coming to an end and will be over as soon as possible and without further loss of life or violence. Clearly, even after the takeover ends there will be a period of time when the refuge will remain closed for investigations and other efforts. 
 
 Once those efforts are complete, we hope the reopening of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge will be as soon as possible so that the critical business of protecting America’s public lands and wildlife can resume. And we’re asking you to help in that effort: Join us by committing to volunteer your time toward restoration of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. 
 
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managers will face the daunting task of restoring refuge operations, repairing damage done by the illegal takeover and continuing to provide important habitat for the many bird and animal species that rely on the refuge. Like millions of Americans, we want to help restore the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and support the Harney County community. 
 
 Every year, ONDA’s Stewardship Program works with hundreds of volunteers to restore areas of Oregon’s high desert, including projects on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. As we all move forward together to restore the refuge it will be critical to coordinate volunteer efforts with refuge managers. ONDA is committed to coordinating with refuge managers and volunteers to ensure a successful and smooth volunteer restoration effort. 
 
 Please join us today. Pledge to volunteer your time toward the restoration of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. 

 Now that the anti-government occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is over, a group calling itself Restore Malheur is asking for help with reopening the popular bird sanctuary near Burns. 
 
 "Clearly, even after the takeover ends there will be a period of time when the refuge will remain closed for investigations and other efforts," the Oregon Natural Desert Association said on its website Thursday morning. 
 
 "Once those efforts are complete, we hope the reopening of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge will be as soon as possible so that the critical business of protecting America's public lands and wildlife can resume," the group said. 
 
 The Oregon Natural Desert Association and Portland Audubon Society have created an online sign-up sheet for people who want to volunteer to help fix any damage done during the militants' 41-day standoff with the federal government. 
 
 Here's the message posted on the group's Facebook page: 
 
 The last occupier has surrendered to the FBI. The illlegal occupation of Malheur is over. Portland Audubon expresses its... Posted by Restore Malheur on Thursday, February 11, 2016 
 
 Mary Kwart of Ashland, a retired U.S. Fish & Wildlife ranger who worked at the Tetlin Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, said she has already signed up. 
 
 Volunteers will not only clean up messes and repair damage left by the Malheur occupation, but will help ensure files for wildlife grants worth hundreds of thousands of dollars are in order. 
 
 "I could not imagine armed people coming into my office and messing up things like that," Kwart said. Judging from videos posted on social media during the showdown at Malheur, "the place is just trashed," she said. 
 
 Every year, the the Oregon Natural Desert Association volunteers work with Fish and Wildlife managers to restore and maintain areas of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The organization said it is coordinating the restoration campaign with refuge managers. 
 
 Last month, The Oregonian's Laura Gunderson wrote about Malheur's birders and their love for the wildlife refuge. 
 
 You can go here to sign up to help Restore Malheur in its efforts. 
 
 Here was the official statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 
 
 In a statement: "We are relieved that the illegal occupation of Malheur NWR is over. While we are now able to look forward to a new beginning, there is still much that needs to be done so that the community and the larger public can be welcomed back to their refuge. We will be available, at the request of the FBI, to help in the long and painstaking job of processing the crime scene, and will be working to assess and repair damages caused by the occupation. Above all, we will begin to revitalize our deep connections in the local community and resume the dialog that has made Malheur a model of collaborative conservation." 
 
 — Joseph Rose 
 
 503-221-8029 
 
 jrose@oregonian.com 
 
 @josephjrose
– It's hard to imagine, but there was a time Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was a beloved bird sanctuary and not a clubhouse for armed anti-government protesters. But now that the last of those protesters has cleared out, various organizations are asking for volunteers to help clean and repair the wildlife refuge, the Oregonian reports. "We are relieved that the illegal occupation of Malheur NWR is over," US Fish and Wildlife says in a statement. "While we are now able to look forward to a new beginning, there is still much that needs to be done so that the community and the larger public can be welcomed back to their refuge." Protesters occupied the wildlife refuge for 41 days before the last one surrendered to the FBI on Thursday. The Oregon Natural Desert Association and Portland Audubon Society made an online sign-up sheet for volunteers to help clean up whatever messes the occupiers made while there. "The place is just trashed," one volunteer tells the Oregonian after watching videos posted to social media by the protesters. Regardless, the Portland Audubon Society is looking at the bright side of the occupation: "Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most important bird refuges in the United States," the group states on its website. "The illegal armed occupation has increased awareness of this incredible place, the wildlife that depends on it, and the community that surrounds it."