Click the map and use the "Find a Refuge" feature to find a wildlife refuge near you.
The National Wildlife Refuge System is America’s promise to itself that there always will be a place for wildlife within the nation’s midst. Guided by Aldo Leopold’s teachings that land is a community of life, the Refuge System fulfills that promise through stewardship principles and practices that embody the finest, scientifically based precepts of wildlife management.
To learn more about your National Wildlife Refuge System, visit the website www.fws.gov/refuges.
Spanning more than 150 million acres of diverse and rich wildlife habitat, the Refuge System is an incredible national treasure. Its 553 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts support at least 700 species of birds, 220 mammals, 250 reptiles and amphibians, more than 1,000 species of fish and countless invertebrates and plants. National wildlife refuges are anchors for biodiversity and ecosystem conservation with more than 20 million acres of designated wilderness.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages this unique land system as a critical component in achieving the Service’s conservation mission. Often referred to as the “front porch” of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife refuges are welcoming places for the American public. Strengthening the Refuge System and protecting these special places for the enjoyment of current and future generations of Americans is critical.
In America’s increasingly urban world, these islands of natural beauty offer Americans places to soothe or stir the soul, educate the mind and enjoy outdoor, wildlife-dependent recreation, including wildlife observation, fishing, hunting, birding and photography.
Rocks offshore from the Crook Point unit of Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge are magnets for seabirds. (Roy W. Lowe/USFWS)
Wildlife refuges help communities too by restoring millions of acres of depleted lands, relieving regional flooding by protecting wetlands, improving water quality, and helping private landowners follow conservation precepts on their own lands. According to the last estimate in 2004, national wildlife refuges generated nearly $1.7 billion in economic activity and created 24,000 private sector jobs. The value of the Refuge System’s ecosystem services — such as improved soil and water quality in neighboring communities — has been estimated at almost $27 billion per year.
National wildlife refuges sustain nearly 300 of the nation’s more than 1,300 endangered or threatened species; 59 refuges were established specifically for endangered species. Wildlife refuges have played a key role in the recovery of several species, including the bald eagle, whooping crane, the brown pelican, Key deer and American crocodile.
Another 200 wildlife refuges were established to protect migratory birds. Many refuges along the four major north-south flyways hold festivals to celebrate the seasonal arrival of snow geese, tundra swans, sandhill cranes and songbirds; these refuge festivals provide a major economic boost to their communities. More than 3,000 waterfowl production areas — primarily in the Prairie Pothole regions of Minnesota and the Dakotas — offer habitat for a vast variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, grassland birds, plants and insects.
There are many ways to enjoy national wildlife refuges.
The Refuge System works to foster public understanding and appreciation of the natural world through wildlife-oriented recreation. This includes hunting, offered at more than 300 national wildlife refuges, and quality fishing that is available on more than 270 wildlife refuges. Sometimes called America’s “first conservationists”, hunters have played a role in the conservation of the nation’s wildlife resources since the late 19th century. They have been longtime partners of the Refuge System, and will continue to be so as long as there is a National Wildlife Refuge System. Fishing opportunities in the Refuge System represent virtually every type of sport fishing on the continent. From inconnu and grayling in remote Alaska to snook hovering by mangroves in Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands, national wildlife refuges offer anglers adventure and diversity.
The number of people engaged in wildlife observation on wildlife refuges – especially birding and photography – are on the rise. Every year, thousands of schoolchildren and their teachers visit national wildlife refuges to learn about conservation firsthand and discover the joy and mystery of the natural world. Through environmental education and interpretation, wildlife refuges nurture a sense of wonder in Americans of all ages.
