Carl Zenger builds and maintains bluebird boxes at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge as if they were his own home. He started a nesting program for purple martins, and he cares about them like family. He trains volunteers, interns and students, and when the staff is shorthanded, he leads maintenance and safety operations.
For more than 45,000 volunteer hours at the refuge over three decades, Zenger has touched every facet of Iroquois, but his favorite task is to take a tractor out and mow.
“I really have a passion for mowing the fields. If we don’t mow our fields, the brush comes in and all you have is brush land and shrub lands and of course, the ground-nesting birds won’t nest in that kind of habitat.”
The refuge has about 900 acres of grassland habitat, which is mowed in sections every few years. Zenger was on one of those sections in late August when he turned off the tractor, opened the door to let in a breeze and talked about being named the 2025 National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer of the Year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association.
“It’s nice to be recognized and thanked and know that people appreciate what you’ve done,” said the 87-year-old Zenger. “I really appreciate the people that have supported me.”
Zenger will be presented with his award on Wednesday during a luncheon at Bent’s Opera House in Medina.
The Volunteer of the Year Award began in 1994, along with an award for Refuge Manager of the Year. The association added awards for employee of the year in 1995 and the Friends group of the year in 1998.
Criteria for the volunteer award covers five categories: commitment to conservation and refuge management that demonstrates innovation, dedication and effectiveness; organization skills that include mentoring; taking new approaches to assignments; working with refuge staff and the public; and dependability.
“It takes hundreds of people and a lot of things to fall into place,” said Zenger, who has devoted the equivalent of 22 years of 30- to 40-hour work weeks to the refuge.
The refuge association award is among several bestowed upon Zenger. He received a commendation from New York state Sen. Rob Ortt in August. He was named 2024 Volunteer of the Year for the Northeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and he has been recognized by Congresswoman Claudia Tenney for his commitment to the community.
“As far as going out in front of people and getting all this glory, that’s not me. I’d rather be out here mowing in the tractor.”
Zenger started volunteering in 1997, the year before he retired from the Harrison Radiator Division of General Motors in Lockport, where he supervised various departments for more than half of his 42-year career as a mechanical engineer.
“I was trying to plan a little ahead,” Zenger said.
He wanted to find a place where he could put up bluebird boxes. He’d developed an interest in New York’s state bird and joined the North American Blue Bird Society and the Upstate Blue Bird Society, forerunner to the state organization.
“I decided, let’s check out the refuge. They had some boxes up. They weren’t maintained at all. They needed a lot of work. That’s why I came down here. I started getting involved with more and more things.”
Zenger initiated a purple martin project that fledges more than 700 birds each year. He also expanded kestrel nesting in response to the decline of the species in New York.
Since 1997, Zenger has been away from the refuge only to take care of his family. He was away from January 2004 until the spring of 2005, when he and his wife, Phyllis, went to Texas to help a daughter who had given birth to triplets. Zenger also missed some time a few years ago when Phyllis was hospitalized or in a nursing home before her death.
“We were married 63 years, 10 months and three days,” Zenger said. “I’m awfully glad I had this. I was glad I had something to do, to occupy my mind.”
Zenger said Phyllis had her own interests, but still she gave more than 2,000 volunteer hours in the refuge office.
Zenger usually is the first one at the refuge. On early spring mornings, he starts his day by checking on the eagle nests.
In summer, he works with students and interns. “I get to meet a lot of people and work with a lot of people. I’ve met some nice friends through this. The social end of it is important.”
In winter, Zenger leads a smaller crew that repairs the machinery and he does general upkeep.
“There’s always stuff to do. Most of my work is done by volunteers. I have to have the parts ready for them to do the job.”
Zenger said the team at the refuge deserves just as much congratulations as he’s received. “We all know that a team effort makes all the difference in the world. We don’t agree on everything. That’s good. That’s how you improve, by having different ideas. I welcome that. Listen and maybe bend a little. It doesn’t have to be your way.”
Zenger was a volunteer firefighter, and he remains active in Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Lockport as a prayer leader.
“I am a very fortunate guy, blessed beyond what I deserve,” he said with a catch to his voice. “I think the opportunity that you’re given, you need to seize it and make the most of it. I think that’s what I’ve done. The Lord gave me health and the support that I needed to make it happen.”