American Canoe Association
Recommended Water Trails

The three Blackwater Refuge paddling trails, which were created by the Friends of Blackwater, have been selected as "Recommended Water Trails for 2006" by the American Canoe Association. Each year the ACA highlights trails that meet certain threshold criteria and that they think stand out as particularly good destinations for paddlers. We are thrilled that the ACA has chosen to honor our trails.

Rand McNally Editor's Pick

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge has been selected as a 2007 Rand McNally "Best of the Road Editor's Pick" award winner. Since 2002, the editors from Rand McNally, the publishers of the best-selling road atlas in America, have annually chosen five trips in the U.S. and Canada that offer a variety of interesting roadside stops, which they refer to as "Rand McNally Best of the Road". Five to six featured eating establishments, shops, or attractions along each route are then chosen to receive the annual award. Blackwater NWR has been honored as a featured stop along the Ocean City to Baltimore, Maryland route, which will be highlighted in the 2007 edition of the Rand McNally Road Atlas, as well as on their website. Other award-winning sites for 2007 include The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, one of Blackwater NWR's major partners in wetland and woodland restoration efforts.

2003 Friends Group of the Year

The Friends of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge were awarded the National Friends Group of the Centennial Year 2003 at a reception in Washington DC on February 1, 2003. Ron Tillier, President of the Friends of Blackwater, accepted the award from John Berry, Director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Evan Hirsche, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, co-sponsor of the award, read a congratulatory letter from Congressman Gilchrest. Tony Lawrence from Senator Mikulski's office also presented the Friends Group with a citation.

Visit our Group page to learn more about the award.

Ultraweb Merit Award

The Ultraweb website judges "enjoyed learning about the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge though your well written articles and abundance of superb pictures, which complement each page. The judges also appreciated your logical and easy-to-use navigation and non-cluttered site design."

WeB Pix Award

The Beehive Awards Program judge gave the Friends of Blackwater website a score of 97 and "found your reader-friendly site easy to navigate, attractive, full of great content, and a great service to the Internet community."

2003-2004 Golden Web Award

Presented by the International Association of Web Masters and Designers for 2003-2004.