Expect to see a new, improved www.americawildlife.org.  Later next week, you’ll see an entirely new layout. More images, brighter colors, easier navigation and a clearer path to online engagement in the vision process for the Refuge System.

Why a redesign? The changes are in response to valuable feedback from you, the user. When the website went live last November, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA), Friends and partner organizations interested in the future of the National Wildlife Refuge System started sharing ideas and commenting on the draft vision documents.  At the same time, users provided feedback on the website too. For instance, some felt that posting their ideas needed to be more intuitive; and others asked for a quicker path to documents. We took all ideas under advisement; the result is a more vibrant and appealing community website.

America's Wildlife: Conserving the Future

A sneak peek at the new look for Americaswildlife.org! Look for major updates later next week!

The web redesign includes a new feature: the “community of ideas” forum for posting your big, bold vision for the Refuge System. Want to comment on the draft vision document? It will be easily accessed from the landing page. Established groups and forums will stay the same, so no previous dialogue is lost. Also, your log-in information remains the same.

We want to bring even more diverse individuals and organizations into the discussion through the website. To date, nearly 480 individuals have signed up as members of our online community, and offered their ideas and comments. But if we are to capture the big ideas that will help refuges survive and thrive into the next century we need to hear more voices. When a consensus “vision” document is adopted in July, we want that document to reflect all the individuals and groups that care about the future of the Refuge System. So we need your help.

We offer up this challenge: next week when the new website is launched, recruit 10 friends to become a member. The National Wildlife Refuge System—more than 550 refuges in every U.S. state and territory—needs a vision that represents the geographic, wildlife, ecosystem, and human diversity of our great nation.