Posted: 3/22/07
Pasch's passion at refuge gets him volunteer honor
By Joel Stottrup
From eagles and cranes to nuthatches and prairie plant seed, James Pasch, 65, of rural Princeton, has been helping keep track of things at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Princeton for many years.
Therefore, it may not have surprised many that Pasch was named the refuge's volunteer of the year. Pasch was honored at the refuge's annual awards dinner March 6. Presenting the honors was refuge manager Anne Sittauer.
Pasch was recognized for more than 750 hours of volunteer service to the refuge in the past 10 years. He was also given a framed wildlife print.
Pasch's volunteer work included helping with the eagle-watch program, collecting native plant seeds, and assisting with the refuge's Winterfest and its Wildlife Festival. He has also coordinated the refuge's annual Christmas bird count.
Pasch is an active member of the Friends of Sherburne volunteer group and was a board director for three years.
A total of 800 volunteers were recognized at the March 6 dinner, for a total of 7,500 hours of volunteer service in the past year.
The total includes 195 regular volunteers plus more than 540 members of local scout troops, families, school classes, 4-H clubs and conservation groups.
Sherburne Refuge management calculates that the time donated by the volunteers during the past year equals four full-time employees.
Other volunteers honored include brothers, Robert and Edward Trunk of Princeton, for 1,500 hours of service, Denise Eidem, Becker, and Pam Spar, Big Lake, for 500 hours.
Pasch comments
Pasch says that when he and his wife moved to rural Princeton in 1969, it was just down the road from the refuge's maintenance area.
"There wasn't a volunteer program [there] at the time but we were friends of a lot of the staff," he said. "Both sides had children. It was a social thing." He added that they gathered wild rice and canoed together.
Pasch spoke of the volunteer work with the bird counts, the monitoring of sandhill cranes, nesting bald eagles, and the gathering of seeds from prairie plants.
"It's interesting getting out in parts of the refuge," Pasch said. Animals he has seen at the refuge include beavers, otters, bears, cranes, ducks and other birds.
Beyond the animals Pasch has also been helping with the Fire-Wise program. It is a federal and state program which trains people like Pasch to assess the danger or risk of wildfires happening near a person's home.
It was a program that was started last year and refuge manager Sittauer wants to do this for all the homes located around the refuge, Pasch said. It has already been completed at several dozen homes.
Anyone wanting to check out the many volunteer programs at Sherburne Refuge may call Nancy Haugen, Refuge Public Use Specialist, at 763 389-3323, ext. 13.
Princeton Union-Eagle
P.O. Box 278
Princeton, MN 55371
Telephone: 763-389-1222
Fax: 763-389-1728