Many Reserves benefit from a nonprofit friends or foundation group that actively supports their mission and work. NERRA teams up with these groups to form the NERRS Friends and Foundations Network, a national community of practice that works together to protect Reserves and our System for future generations.
Friends Making News
- Heroes of the Friends of Old Woman Creek announced (February 2023)
- Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve holds annual member meeting (February 2023)
- Call for artists for 17th annual Art of Great Bay (December 2022)
- Increasing Our Impact by Lending a Hand (November 2022)
Stay informed
Sign up today for Good To Know, NERRA’s near monthly e-brief with tips tools and news from friends and foundation groups around the Reserve System.
Latest Issues
How You Can Help
NERRA’s appropriations strategy for NERRS FY 2024 funding has all the basic tools you need to join other Reserve friends groups and foundations in supporting the NERRS budget.
Writing a letter to your members of Congress is one of the most important things you can do support your Reserve and the national System. Questions? Contact Rebecca Roth.
Resources for Friends & Foundations
Members Only
NERRA maintains an archive of resources to support Friends and Foundations groups in strengthening their administrations, increase fundraising, make their communications more effective, and support national efforts to advocate for the NERRS. The archive includes resources like….
- Templates for one pagers and presentations
- A national friends contact database
- Letter and email templates for engaging Congress
- Ideas for supporting a Reserve impacted by natural disaster
- Communications plan examples with tools to help you develop your own
- Presentation slide deck to support communicating about NERRA & the NERRS (New!)
All of these resources are available through our password-protected Members Only page. To get the password, please contact info@nerra.org.
National Assistance Program
NERRA is committed to supporting Friends and Foundations in the excellent work they do for their Reserves. To that end, we provide a number of small grants and targeted assistance through our National Assistance Program, designed to grow the capacity of Friends and Foundations groups. Funding for the National Assistance Program is support by the Office for Coastal Management (OCM). For more information, contact info@nerra.org. Some outcomes of past projects are listed below.
Speaking of awesome newsletters...
The Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve’s latest edition of “Where the River Meets the Lake” has us wondering if we have time for a quick visit to Superior! According to new Board Member Will Mowchan, the St. Louis Estuary has a way of growing on you. We love how the Friends have leveraged a NERRA’s National Assistance Program grant to tell the story of their Reserve.
Stories from our Friends and Foundation Network
Protecting the Weeks Bay Watershed
Protecting an estuary in a rapidly developing coastal area is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle when the pieces are changing shape. Sound impossible? When you live in Alabama’s fastest growing county, it’s a challenge you get used to.
Rebuilding the ARK
When Hurricane Harvey hit the Mission-Aransas Reserve in 2017, one of the many casualties was the ARK. Today, thanks to the support of NOAA and friends, the ARK is returning about 500 turtles and 1000 birds to their native habitats every year.
Recipe Challenge: Salish Salmon
We asked for your best estuary-sourced recipes, and Dennis Parent—retired commercial fisherman and volunteer with the Padilla Bay Foundation—delivered. His recipe for grilled Chinook salmon had our mouths watering and our spirits thinking about a trip to Washington.