On April 10, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, hosted "Public Witness Day" where two members of Friends groups, and one rancher were among those who testified in support of increased funding for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

This subcommittee is one of the only committees to offer a day like this. Public Witness Day gives American citizens from all walks of life and backgrounds the opportunity to request funding for priority programs such as public lands, arts, and Native American issues. It is democracy in action, giving organizations and individuals the ability to speak directly to the lawmakers who write the funding bills for all programs within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as numerous other natural resource agencies. Any American citizen is able to submit testimony and apply to testify. The Refuge Association and CARE have both submitted testimony, as well as several Friends groups.

Chosen to testify were Bobby Williamson from the Friends of the Wichitas in Oklahoma, Randy Streufert from the Friends of the Potomac River Refuges in Virginia, and Terry Mansfield, a board member of Partners for Conservation and a private landowner based in Washington State. All three have very unique backgrounds, but came with the same message- increased funding for refuges.

Mr. Williamson has a long history with the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. This is where he was born and grew up while his father worked there. Now, he spends a large amount of time volunteering. In his testimony, Mr. Williamson explained the diversity of the friends members, poor, well to do, black, white, Republican, and Democrat and how they all come together and agree on one thing- they love and support the refuge. "I have hiked 1200 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Done rim to rim to rim on the Grand Canyon. Hiked in half our National Parks. When I tell my wife about the places I see she smiles. She knows that I will always come back to the Wichitas where I have always been. And she's right."

Mr. Streufert, also a member of a Friends group, had a very different perspective and reason for loving his local refuges (Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck NWR, Occoquan Bay NWR , and Featherstone NWR). A recent retiree after working in public service for 39 years, Streufert held a senior management position for over 20 years, and is also an Army veteran. For the past year, he has been a member of the Friends of the Potomac River Refuges, contributing many volunteer hours on the refuge. The refuges that Mr. Streufert volunteers at are prime examples of urban refuges since they are surrounded by the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Streufert went on to explain the high population of service members with four military bases in the surrounding area and how important they are to wounded and rehabilitating soldiers. Refuges are "precisely this type of environment that is critical to the healing process for Wounded Warriors...Our veterans and their families have earned the best of what our government can provide."

Terry Mansfield on the other hand, is not a member of a Friends group, but a rancher and private landowner whose ranch is near a refuge in Washington. Established in 2008, Partners for Conservation embodies a grassroots movement of private landowners working with agencies, non-profit organizations, and policymakers to collaborate on conservation projects for present and future generations. It represents the voices of 21st century conservation and the collective effort to support working landscapes through voluntary, incentive-based public and private programs. Mr. Mansfield explained the vast importance of private and public sectors working together, and that it is very successful when done appropriately. He was very supportive of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program as he explained that "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can't do it alone". Many endangered and threatened species rely on private land, making the partners program even more important.
In past years the testimony of Friends and partners made a lasting impact on committee members that led to increases in Refuge System funding. Congressmen and women listen to their constituents, making public witness day the perfect avenue to support the National Wildlife Refuge System.