MARBLE FALLS, Texas--Every day of the year, rain or shine, maintenance workers and heavy equipment operators with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contribute substantive efforts toward refuge and hatchery upkeep.

They construct buildings and outfit them with electricity; maintain roads and trails; install and repair water and sewer lines; build levees, dig impoundments, and lay pipe to sustain wetlands. They steer dozers over invasive vegetation; redistribute soil as needed; sculpt streambanks with excavators; and, all the while, fix the machines they use in these efforts.

But for four days last September in the Southwest Region, many of

"It was time to address various wage grade employee career issues and work-related concerns," said Bill Williams, a maintenance worker at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge who helped to organize the event. The 58 maintenance workers and heavy equipment operators who attended, representing four states, account for about half of the region's wage-grade employees.

The conference was aimed at providing education on career advancement, policy and procedure, field techniques, safety issues, conflict resolution, and position description discrepancies. It also became a valuable forum through which many attendees vented their frustrations.

Ever-changing policies have presented obstacles for many wage- grade personnel who have had difficulty adapting. Dealing with conflict, managers, limited mobility, and an influx of new personnel were among the major topics of discussion.

According to post-workshop critiques, an agenda favorite was guest speaker Dick Gilbert, who began his career with the Fish and Wildlife Service as a maintenance worker and now manages Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona. From the perspective of a former maintenance worker, he provided unique insights into refuge administration.

The workshop also offered panel discussions, equipment demonstrations, safety presentations, and team-building activities. Most importantly, the get-together offered many attendees fulfillment of long-time desires to be included in Service-sponsored activities. For some, it was the first work-related trip away from their stations in a decade.

"A sense of not being a part of the team has really contributed to low morale among wage-grade employees," said Williams. "By including us in policy and decisionmaking and by keeping us informed and educated through training opportunities, we will have a significantly higher appreciation for our jobs because we will have a better understanding of the Service. At least for me, the Service's mission is really not a hard sell. And I believe that most wage-grade employees really feel good about what the Service represents."

Williams may be right. For example, when the Regional Refuge Ambassador Program was initiated in 1998, Joe D'Arrigo, a heavy equipment operator at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, remembered how he enjoyed working with other refuge staff to raise funds for local flood victims. "Walking into the church for the dropoff made me feel proud to wear my uniform," he said.

The Ambassador Program aims at turning all regional and refuge staff--from managers to maintenance workers--into local ambassadors of the agency. "Through targeted training efforts," said Refuge System Regional Chief Dom Ciccone, "employees will become refuge champions, ambassadors, if you will, within their communities. Ultimately, the program will popularize refuges, and further the mission of the Service, by providing outreach and education on its many activities." The Wage Grade Career Workshop was part of Ciccone's Ambassador Program.

Educators from the National Conservation Training Center attended the workshop to identify areas to improve training for wage-grade workers, and to make new managers aware of existing issues. Career workshops like this one will likely be organized on a regular, two-year basis. Wage-grade employees in the Southwest Region enjoyed the opportunity to speak about work-related issues. Typical comments on postworkshop critiques included the following: It was good to vent; It was very nice to air our concerns; I liked speaking openly about the issues; I am grateful we had the opportunity to speak our minds."