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National wildlife refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, protect thousands of species and provide access to world-class recreation, from fishing and hunting to wildlife watching and nature photography.
On March 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge at Pelican Island, Florida, to protect brown pelicans from slaughter by market hunters.
One hundred twenty-two years later, the refuge system includes more than 570 national wildlife refuges, 38 wetland management districts and five marine national monuments. It’s easy to see that conserving these lands for the benefit of wildlife and people was the correct decision. But surely there are some things about refuges that would surprise you.
The first national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge predates the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Though President Roosevelt designated the first refuge in 1903, it wasn’t until 63 years later that the National Wildlife Refuge System was established.
In 1966, Congress passed the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act. The first piece of comprehensive legislation addressing the management of refuges, the act provided new guidance for administering the System and required that proposed uses on refuges be "compatible" with refuge purposes. Through this act, the National Wildlife Refuge System was officially established. Refuges used to be called preservations or wildlife sanctuaries.
Then, in 1997, the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act made wildlife conservation the fundamental mission of the refuge system, while affirming compatible, wildlife-dependent recreation receives priority in refuge planning and management.
The first refuge in the Northeast was Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.
Managed as part of the Chesapeake Marshlands NWR Complex, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1933 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a sanctuary for waterfowl migrating along the Atlantic Flyway. It currently encompasses more than 32,000 acres and contains one-third of Maryland's tidal wetlands. Referred to as the "Everglades of the North," Blackwater NWR was named a priority wetland in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and has been designated an Internationally Important Bird Area.
Additionally, Harriet Tubman was born in the vicinity of the refuge. The refuge plays an important role in the management and protection of the landscape where she learned to navigate the terrain and survive off the land, giving her the necessary skills to help many enslaved people escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Rachel Carson did her research for “Silent Spring” at Patuxent Research Refuge.
In a nondescript meadow inaccessible to the public and marked only by a weathered wooden sign, there’s an area pivotal to the regulation of pesticide use in the United States.
Known as the Author of the Modern Environmental Movement, Rachel Carson was a marine biologist with the Service (back when it was known as the Bureau of Fisheries) who rose to become chief editor of publications for agency. She authored and published her groundbreaking book “Silent Spring” in 1962. In it, she described how a widely used pesticide called DDT caused eggshell thinning in birds, which sparked national debate on its unregulated use. Carson conducted field research demonstrating DDT bioaccumulates in earthworms consumed by birds — with deadly effects — in that meadow behind Patuxent Research Refuge. Today it is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Though she passed away just two years after “Silent Spring’s” release, Carson was posthumously rewarded for her contributions to society through a refuge in Maine named for her in 1969, the banning of DDT nationwide in 1972 and a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980.
There’s a national wildlife refuge that encompasses an entire watershed.
Located within parts of four New England states — New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut — the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge is the only refuge to encompass an entire watershed. This unique refuge design was proposed by Congressman Silvio O. Conte who had "...a dream that included a Connecticut River, cleaned, fishable, swimmable, and with salmon restored to abundant numbers.”
In 1997, President Bill Clinton established the refuge in Conte’s name to fulfill that dream. The refuge was designed to include the entire Connecticut River watershed because legislators realized that the health of any aquatic ecosystem is linked to the health of the whole watershed upstream. It is one of only three refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System that has Fish in its title.
There’s an INTERnational wildlife refuge. Not joking.
In 2001, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge was established by Congress as a result of efforts by U.S. and Canadian politicians, conservation leaders and local communities to build a sustainable future for the Detroit River and western Lake Erie ecosystems. In recognition of this collaboration and with the understanding that wildlife don’t adhere to political boundaries, the refuge was given international status, making it the first and only of its kind in North America.
There are national wildlife refuges in all 50 states.
There’s at least one national wildlife refuge in every state and one within an hour’s drive of most major metropolitan areas.
Conversely, the National Park Service has national parks in only 30 states. Ten states in our Northeast region lack national parks. Thanks Park Service. 😒
(Granted, Yellowstone was established by Congress as the first national park in 1872, which predates the first national wildlife refuge, but we’ve since pulled ahead in number and success. 💪😉)
Find a refuge near you and help us celebrate turning 122!
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