Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced that the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex is the winner of a nationwide competition among urban wildlife refuges to receive an addition $1 million this year- and in subsequent years- to expand its urban refuge partnership program. Way to go San Diego!

The refuge’s winning proposal, the SoCal Urban Wildlife Refuge Project, includes outdoor learning, service and stewardship of natural habitats, and conservation-based projects for youth and young adults from diverse communities. It encompasses activities not only at the San Diego NWR Complex but also to the north at Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex, a new Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership for this year, and in Los Angeles under the auspices of the Los Angeles Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership and Friends of the Los Angeles River. Ten exceptional programs have been incorporated into the SoCal Project that will complement and expand current outreach and education programs on the refuges.
More details here.