Friends of Whitefish Dunes Earn Accolade

The Friends of Whitefish Dunes has received the Friends Group of the Year award, presented Nov. 19 by Steve Schmelzer, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ bureau director of parks and recreation management, during a special meeting of the Friends board.

This active, dedicated group of volunteers was recognized for extraordinary service to the Whitefish Dunes State Park throughout the challenging times of the pandemic. Members quickly adapted to a virtual meeting platform and adjusted their volunteer duties to assist the park, even though the nature center remained closed until June of this year. The group also continued work on existing projects and introduced new initiatives, reopened the Brachiopod Trail boardwalk after four years of closure due to unsafe conditions, and developed and implemented the Trail Ambassador program.