Friends of Seney National Wildlife Refuge

03/10/2026

❄️ Tired of Snow and Ice? Dive Into the Great Lakes This Thursday at the Pine Performance Center in Curtis!

Friends of Seney 2026 Winter Film Festival continues on Thursday March 12!

All Too Clear is a visually stunning Canadian-produced documentary. Using cutting-edge underwater drone footage, it reveals how invasive quagga mussels are dramatically transforming freshwater ecosystems — and what that means for whitefish, food webs, and the future of our lakes.

The film has earned significant recognition on the international festival circuit, including multiple documentary award nominations and environmental film festival honors for cinematography and impact. This screening will be among the first public showings of the film in the United States.

Following the film, Elliot Nelson with Michigan Sea Grant will join us for a Q&A.

Thursday, March 12
Erickson Center-Pine Performance Center N9224 Saw-Wa-Quato Street, Curtis, MI 49820
6:30 PM | Doors at 6
🍿 Concessions available.
Free – donations welcome

03/09/2026

Friends of Seney 2026 Winter Film Festival continues on Thursday March 12!

What’s happening beneath the surface of the Great Lakes?

All Too Clear is a visually stunning Canadian-produced documentary. Using cutting-edge underwater drone footage, it reveals how invasive quagga mussels are dramatically transforming freshwater ecosystems — and what that means for whitefish, food webs, and the future of our lakes.

The film has earned significant recognition on the international festival circuit, including multiple documentary award nominations and environmental film festival honors for cinematography and impact. This screening will be among the first public showings of the film in the United States.

Following the film, Elliot Nelson with Michigan Sea Grant will join us for a Q&A.

Thursday, March 12
Erickson Center-Pine Performance Center N9224 Saw-Wa-Quato Street, Curtis, MI 49820
6:30 PM | Doors at 6
🍿 Concessions available.
Free – donations welcome

03/06/2026

🦉 Thank You for a Great Evening!

A big thank you to Chris Neri and Nova Mackentley of the Friends of Whitefish Point for their engaging presentation this week, sponsored by the Friends of Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Their stories and insights about owls, migration, and the work being done at Whitefish Point gave us a fascinating glimpse into the lives of these remarkable birds and the people who study them.

We appreciate everyone who joined us and helped make the evening such a success!

🎬 Next up in the Winter Film Festival:
Join us on Thursday March 12 for All Too Clear, an award-winning documentary that explores the remarkable clarity—and surprising changes—taking place in the waters of the Great Lakes. Using cutting-edge underwater drones, All Too Clear is an award-winning film that dives beneath the Great Lakes to reveal a startling transformation. Visually stunning, the film explores the impact of the quagga mussel on the whitefish population and what scientists are doing to protect our freshwater ecosystems. Elliot Nelson with Michigan Sea Grant will join us to answer questions after the film.

We hope to see you there! Details:https://friendsofseney.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Winter-Film-Festival-March-2026.pdf

03/02/2026

Friends of Seney 2026 Winter Film Festival

🦉 Spotlight on March 5: Owls of Whitefish Point

Our festival opens with a LIVE presentation from Chris Neri and Nova Mackentley, sharing more than 25 years of owl banding research at Whitefish Point.

Learn about migration patterns, long-term monitoring, and what these remarkable birds tell us about environmental change in the Upper Peninsula.

Join us and bring your friends to hear directly from field biologists who have dedicated decades to this work.

Thursday, March 5
Erickson Center-Pine Performance Center N9224 Saw-Wa-Quato Street, Curtis, MI 49820
6:30 PM | Doors at 6
🍿 Concessions available.
Free – donations welcome

03/01/2026

🎬❄️ Winter Film Festival starts THIS Thursday!

Join Friends of Seney National Wildlife Refuge for our 2026 Winter Film Festival at the Erickson Center – Pine Performance Center in Curtis. It’s FREE, family friendly, and a great way to celebrate wildlife, science, and conservation together.

This Thursday, March 5
Live Presentation: Owls of Whitefish Point
Chris Neri and Nova Mackentley will share stories and insights from more than 25 years of owl banding in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Doors open at 6:00 PM | Program begins at 6:30 PM
Free admission – donations welcome.

Bring a friend and kick off the festival with an evening of fascinating owl research and Great Lakes wildlife!

02/26/2026

One week until Friends of Seney Winter Film Festival. It’s Fun, Free and Family Friendly!

02/19/2026

Mark your calendars! The 2026 Friends of Seney Winter Film Festival kicks off March 5 at the Erickson Center – Pine Performance Center in Curtis.

Three Thursday evenings. Wildlife. Science. Conservation. Community.

✔ March 5 – Owls of Whitefish Point (live presentation)
✔ March 12 – All Too Clear
✔ March 19 – Return of the Trumpeters

Doors open at 6:00 PM. Programs begin at 6:30 PM.
Free admission – donations welcome.

Bring a friend and join us as we celebrate wildlife, science, and conservation right here in the Upper Peninsula. We hope to see you there!

02/13/2026

💘 Will you be our Valentine, Seney?

Over the past weeks, we’ve shared 90 reasons to love Seney. Wildlife encounters. Boardwalk strolls. Snowy ski trails. The joy of discovery. Quiet moments that stay with you long after you leave.

This Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating all 90 reasons — and the many more still to come.

💕Thanks for loving Seney as much as we do.💕



Photos courtesy USFWS

02/11/2026

Wildlife Wednesday Bus Tours!

A fan favorite summer tradition at the refuge.

Have you joined a refuge bus tour? What did you see?

02/10/2026

Happy Birthday USFWS!

Another trip around the sun, another year in the books. Happy 155th Birthday to us.

We’ve gone by a few different names since our earliest days as the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, but the mission has always stayed the same: conserve wildlife, protect habitats, and make sure future generations inherit a country full of wild places worth caring about.

Thanks to the conservationists, partners, hunters, anglers, recreationists, and members of the public who continue to make this work possible. Here’s to another year of conservation in action.

Photo at Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada by Dennis Doyle (sharetheexperience)

02/10/2026

Join the 2026 Great Backyard Bird Count!
From February 13–16, bird lovers around the world will come together for the Great Backyard Bird Count, a fun and easy way to help scientists track bird populations. You can participate from anywhere—your backyard, a park, a trail, or even at your bird feeder. All it takes is a little time watching birds and reporting what you see. Learn more and find out how to participate using the link below!

https://www.birdcount.org

02/09/2026

💚 The people who make Seney special💚

One of our 90 Reasons to Love Seney: the people who care for this place and welcome us into it — every season, every day.

👇 Tag a volunteer or refuge staff member you appreciate.