Refuge Office and Visitor Center Celebrate Five Years

A little recent history is our topic for today.  Five years ago, on September 8, 2011, the completion of the new Refuge Office and Visitor Center at Hagerman NWR was celebrated with a grand opening ceremony.  Several hundred visitors lined up to enter the new facility after celebratory speeches by USFWS Region 2, Refuge and local leaders, and then a ribbon cutting.

Once inside, visitors were thrilled with the spacious exhibit area, shown below:

The building incorporated many green features - siting the building for maximum natural light, specially coated window glass to conserve energy, with windows tilted inward from top to bottom to prevent bird strikes, motion sensors on lighting and plumbing, solar panels on carport and office roof are just a few examples - and later earned Silver Level Leed certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

The new Multi-purpose Meeting Room offered comfortable seating for up to 100, along with high-tech audio/visual equipment for presentations.

Books and nature-themed gifts were now available to visitors for purchase in the new Friends of Hagerman Nature Nook.

Visitors had ready access to literature about the Refuge and to information and help from volunteers in the Nature Nook or in the Refuge Office.

And finally, there was cake for all!

S0 - not only was there a GRAND Opening, but the last five years have been truly grand, with thousands of visitors enjoying this gateway to Hagerman NWR.  Many thanks to all who made it possible! And thanks to Skip and Melinda Hill for the photos included above in this blog.

Refuge Office and Visitor Center, 2011, by Ken Day