Photo by: Bruce Ellingson

The Prairie's Edge Wildlife Drive is now open to vehicle access for the season! Enjoy the views from your vehicle, bike or on foot. Open daily from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Speed limit is 20 miles per hour. Give wildlife and other visitors a brake!

• The looped portion is one-way for vehicles and bikes. Plan ahead to have enough time to complete the entire drive.

• Feel free to stop anywhere you'd like along the seven mile route. That being said, be courteous and pull over to the side to allow other visitors and staff to get around you.

• Prescribed fire preparation occurred on the drive yesterday, so you will likely notice blackened prairie on the right hand side in the first couple of miles. If you stop by later in the season, remember to check how much it's changed!

• Note the wildlife drive may be temporarily closed to vehicles on Monday, April 5 for prescribed fire.

The refuge is open 1/2 hour before sunrise till 1/2 hour after sunset every day, and through February 28, all areas are open for foot traffic unless marked closed. The wildlife sanctuary period starts March 1 and continues through August 31. During this time, most of the refuge will be closed to allow wildlife to breed and raise their young without human disturbance. For more resources, maps, and general refuge information, check the refuge website. Or shop our nature store for field guides for your adventure.  

Volunteer Opportunity

We have an opening for an Assistant Store Manager! Volunteer will lead in coordinating business aspects of the Friends' Eagles Nest nature store.

Volunteer will lead in accounting tasks for the Friends nature store at two locations and online store, including scheduling store volunteers, preparing orders for pickup/delivery and providing monthly reports to the board. Volunteer will be a backup for the store manager..

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See the position description for more information. Reach out by email at .

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New Online Nature Store

Our new online store is here! You can have your order shipped or pick it up curbside at the Learning Center.  Check the merch out at Sherburne Eagles Nest Store – Sherburne Eagle's Nest Store

For daily bird sightings as recorded in eBird,  check out https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Sherburne/recent_sightings.html .

For event updates, please consult the following resources:

• Refuge website: fws.gov/refuge/Sherburne/

• This website on the Upcoming Events page

• Friends Facebook page: facebook.com/sherburnerefugefans

• Friends’ Prairie Insider e-newsletter: To subscribe, enter email address as requested at bottom of this page

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Video by: Bruce Ellingson/USFWS

"On any given visit, nature surprises and delights me."

- Dean Kleinhans, volunteer