About IWRA - IWRA

Dedicated to helping the US Fish and Wildlife Service deliver the mission of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
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International Wildlife Refuge Alliance title
International Wildlife Refuge Alliance title
International Wildlife Refuge Alliance title
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Our Mission
The mission of the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance is to support the first international wildlife refuge in North America. We work with partnerships to protect, conserve, and manage the Refuge’s wildlife and habitats; to create exceptional conservation, recreational, and educational experiences; and to develop the next generation of conservation stewards.

Click here to learn more about volunteer opportunities to assist the Detroit River IWR.

Our Board
Members of the Board come from a wide range of organizations, businesses, and backgrounds to contribute their skills to the success of the Refuge.

2023 IWRA Board of Directors photographed outside at the 2022 Annual Benefit Dinner
IWRA Board of Directors at the Annual Benefit Dinner, 2022.
Left to right: Kristen LeForce, Nicole LaFleur, Richard Micka, Richard Whitwam, Tim Bowman, Bruce Ross, Michael Morrin, John Cullen, Joann Gonyea, Gary Kirsh, Joann Van Aken, Michael Dunlap, Roberta Urbani, Marika Diamond, Mary Bohling
Not pictured: Elizabeth Iszler, Donald Skidmore

2023 Board of Directors
Gary R. Kirsh Chair, ITC Holdings Company
John Cullen, Esq. • Vice Chair
Roberta Urbani • Secretary
Michael J. Morrin • Treasurer
Marika Diamond • Liaison, BASF Corporation

Michael Dunlap, II DTE Energy
Joann Gonyea
Elizabeth Iszler Wayne County Parks & Recreation
Kristen LeForce DTE Energy
Richard G. Micka
Richard Whitwam

Nicole LaFleur Executive Director
734-362-3735



IWRA gratefully acknowledges the contributions of these former board members (alphabetical order):
Steve Beachum Consumers Energy
Karen Boase
Mary Bohling • Michigan Sea Grant
Denis Boismier
Tim Bowman • First Merchants Bank
Jim Bull Detroit Audubon Society
Gary Dawson Consumers Energy
Fred DeLisle BASF
Joseph Hemming HemmingLaw
Randy Hicks BASF
Peter Israel BASF
Bruce Jones Grosse Ile Nature & Land Conservancy
Andrea Kline
Jamie Kryscynski ITC
Jack Liang Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority
Molly Luempert-Coy DTE Energy
George Mans City of Flat Rock
Paul Muelle Huron Clinton Metropark Authority -retired
Tom O'Hara, Jr. MBT Investment Services
Jon Peterson AT&T Michigan
Yvette Pugh AT&T
Bob Ranka Ducks Unlimited
Bruce J. Ross The Green Door Initiative
Steven Sczytko ITC Transmission
Lloyd Semple Dykema Gossett
David Shefferly Ducks Unlimited
Donald Skidmore
Richard Skoglund
Richard Tuzinsky The Nature Conservancy
Anita Twardesky Riverside Kayak Connection
Ryan Werder Michigan League of Conservation Voters

Share your passion for the Refuge. Learn more here.

Now's your chance to share your passion
for the Refuge.
We have a variety of ongoing projects
that you can support:

Hawk Watch Primary Hawk Counter
2021 will mark the 39th year of Detroit River Hawk Watch (DRHW). Led by the Primary Hawk Counter, citizen scientists monitor the annual migration of raptors during their long journey to their wintering grounds in the southern United States and Mexico. DRHW is a partnership among the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the IWRA, Huron Clinton Metroparks, and the DRHW Advisory Committee.

For more information about DRHW's 35-plus years of monitoring, click here. To help support the efforts of DRHW and the Primary Hawk Counter, click on the Donate button below.

The Nature Store Fund
The Nature Store Fund enables the IWRA to research and purchase a wide variety of educational items for sale in the Visitor Center's new store. Help us be fully stocked when the Center opens!

The Blue Goose Bus Fund
The Blue Goose Bus Fund offers an allowance for school groups to offset the cost of bus transportation to the Refuge. For more information, visit our "What's New" page.

The IWRA Legacy Endowment Fund
It is our priority to consistently provide a quality conservation and outdoor recreational experience at the Refuge Gateway and Humbug Marsh Unit and the endowment will manifest our commitment to making this a priority.

Considerable funds are needed to operate, maintain, and program the Visitor Center, boat dock and Fishing Pier, trails, environmental education shelter, etc. with quality. This endowment also helps protect our initial investment (land acquisition, restoration work, the Visitor Center building) and ensures a long-term mechanism to operate, maintain, and program these facilities and habitats with quality. In addition, the endowment will help operate, maintain, and program other units of the Refuge.


You can also support IWRA's efforts through a
non-targeted donation.
$15 "Mayfly" donation level: receive an IWRA decal
$30 "Canvasback" donation level: receive an IWRA pin and decal
$60 "Walleye" donation level: receive an IWRA hat, pin, and decal
$100 "Great Blue Heron" donation level: receive an IWRA licence plate, pin, and decal
$250 "Lake Sturgeon" donation level: receive two reservations to the next Benefit Dinner, IWRA licence plate, pin, and decal

Please help by donating through PayPal.
Be sure to note how you want your donation to be applied.


Call for more details:
(734) 362-3735
Contact Us





I W R A logo
INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ALLIANCE
5437 W. Jefferson Avenue
Trenton, Michigan 48183
Phone (734) 362-3735

E-mail: iwr_alliance@yahoo.com
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