The Ile Camera
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
International refuge gets first director
By Anne Sullivan, The News-Herald
PUBLISHED: May 11, 2007
Lisa Appel has always loved the outdoors, nature and science.
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And now the 32-year-old botanist has a job that enables her to blend those passions. She has been named as the executive director of the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance and will begin her post July 2.
The Port Huron resident has diverse experience, including project manager, researcher and co-author of "Explore Our Natural World: A Biodiversity Atlas of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor," a wildlife guidebook; four years' experience as a wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Habitat Council; and four years with the Pine River Nature Center in St. Clair County.
In her new post, Appel will work alongside the staff of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Large Lakes Research Station on Grosse Ile.
Her duties will include conducting projects at the refuge, working on partnerships with organizations to enable the refuge to do the projects and fund-raising.
The nonprofit International Wildlife Refuge Alliance was established to help protect wildlife and support activities such as hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education.
It is an alliance of organizations that helps the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to deliver its mission for the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.
The mission of the alliance is to support the first international wildlife refuge in North America by working through partnerships to protect, conserve and manage the refuge's wildlife and habitats. Its mission also includes creating conservation, recreational and educational experiences for visitors and future generations.
"The goal (of the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance) is to make the refuge a world-class gateway center that people from across the country would want to visit," Appel said. "We have to work with the communities first."
The plan is to build a $24 million refuge gateway, she said.
A new bird observation platform will be opening at Humbug Marsh in a ceremony from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday.
Humbug Marsh is off West Jefferson Avenue, south of Van Horn Road and across from the Knights of Columbus Monsignor Eppenbrock Council No. 3615, 5474 W. Jefferson. To get to the deck site, there will be a half-mile walk to the river. Dress for the weather and expect mud, organizers said.
"Byways to Flyways," a brochure that details the types of birds that can be seen in the area and leads visitors to spots in the eight-mile refuge where visitors can see the birds, will be released.
This event marks the initial stage of developing the refuge for visitors, Appel said, adding that there will be more events to help bring awareness of the refuge and to get businesses and government to partner with the refuge.
Appel earned a bachelor of science degree in botany from the University of Michigan that included an internship at the Chicago Botanic Garden in ecological restoration.
She worked as program manager of the Great Lakes regional office of the Wildlife Habitat Council in Detroit and as the operations coordinator for the Pine River Nature Center in St. Clair County.
When she took the Pine River job in 2003, it was just a building. During her tenure, it grew to two miles of nature trails and a science education program serving 4,000 students.
"We got a whole nature center up and running," Appel said. "It's a real neat place and I'm proud (of it)."
She is hoping for similar accomplishments Downriver.
Appel was one of 25 applicants for the job, said George Mans, chairman of the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance. The field was narrowed to seven, and then to two, and Appel was selected, he said.
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