National Wildlife Refuge System

The National Wildlife Refuge System:
100 Years in the Making

The National Wildlife Refuge System is a cornerstone of conservation in America, our best hope for preserving our country's biological diversity. After 100 years of wildlife conservation on refuges, the foundation for a bright future has been laid for the next 100 years. Passage of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, finally gave refuges, formerly managed as isolated islands of habitat, an overarching mission and mandated the implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to wildlife conservation. In addition, community support for refuges is stronger than ever, and continues to grow.

But our national refuges are in an increasingly precarious state, vulnerable to insidious threats posed by a growing human population and the demands we place on natural resources. System needs are outpacing funding levels.

The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) is the only national organization dedicated solely to protecting the Refuge System. With the guidance of retired refuge professionals and experienced volunteers, NWRA is uniquely positioned to address the challenges and become the System's most vocal and consistent advocate. Our strategy:

harness the power of the 220 local "Friends of the Refuge" volunteer groups;
forge partnerships with other leading national organizations around targeted refuge issues; and
capture the national and local media spotlight to draw attention to refuges.

By acting now, we can reconcile the needs of people and wildlife and ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy our unique natural treasures. By building support among the American people, we can protect this most valuable resource - our nation's wildlife trust.

Join us now, as we explore what national wildlife refuges mean to conservation and what we must do to preserve them for all time …

The National Wildlife Refuge System

The National Wildlife Refuge System contains 540 refuges and 3,000 waterfowl production areas located throughout all 50 states and several U.S. territories. At 95 million acres, it is the world's largest system of lands and waters whose primary purpose is the conservation of wildlife and habitat. Our national refuges provide homes for 700 bird species, 220 mammal species, 250 reptile and amphibian species, and more than 200 kinds of fish - including 25 percent of all federal threatened and endangered species. Not only are there more refuge lands than there are National Parks - the places Americans so often think of first when imagining our most impressive natural landscapes - refuges are also more widespread than any other system of lands in the country. And the System is still growing, making it possible for refuges to protect more of our natural heritage than ever. In the future, refuges will become conservation "hubs" - envoys to adjacent private, state, and federal landowners, promoting conservation strategies beyond their boundaries consistent with the refuges' objectives.

The National Wildlife Refuge System: What It Means to Conservation

Refuges guard ecosystems from encroaching development

Today, there are 282 million people living in the United States, more than double the number 100 years ago. Experts predict that the population again will double in the next 100 years. More people means more land is developed, more water is used, more minerals are extracted, more roads, etc. Nearly four million acres of land are lost to development each year. When once-pristine land is developed, the conversion fragments the ecosystem and leaves it in small, disjointed patches.

As these patches become smaller and more isolated, their ability to maintain healthy populations of a variety of plant and animal species is reduced. Individual species are lost from each fragment, the entire community changes, and the ecosystem becomes degraded. This is happening to varying degrees all over the country.

In the midst of this degradation, our national wildlife refuges hold the line. Refuges, which used to be managed primarily for waterfowl, now are focused on conserving and protecting all species and their habitats. They contain rare and common ecosystems alike - everything from southwest desert to arctic tundra, from tropical forests to coral reefs. Indeed, the entire spectrum of North American ecosystems is found within the Refuge System. And many rare, native, and endemic ecosystems will survive the explosive growth and development occurring in the United States solely because the Refuge System safeguards them.

Since 1600, more than a third of our country's forest land has been converted to agricultural and other uses. Of the 740 million forest acres remaining in the U.S., about 50 million (6 percent) are reserved from commercial timber harvest in the form of parks, wilderness, and other land classifications. Because these reserved lands represent such a small piece of the pie, their health is all the more important to conserving the species that depend on them. And since forests found on refuges - about 17 million acres - generally are unavailable for intensive or consumptive uses, they are the most critical for wildlife.
Some 150 refuges contain various types of marine and estuarine areas that provide habitat for species like the West Indian manatee, monk seal, sea turtles, and countless shorebirds. The System contains almost 3 million acres of coral reefs and adjacent ocean habitat, a larger area than is protected by any other public lands or marine system
The Refuge System includes about 17 million acres of tundra, eight million acres of brush habitat, six million acres of desert, and four million acres of grasslands.
In addition, 75 designated National Wilderness areas totaling about 21 million acres, or one-fifth of the entire National Wilderness Preservation System, are found on 65 refuges in 25 states.

Imperiled fish and wildlife find sanctuary in refuges

Scientists estimate that the current species extinction rate is approaching 1,000 times than normal - the rate since the last major extinction, 65 million years ago. If current trends continue, the rate may climb to 10,000 times in the next century.

As conservationists struggle to reverse species decline, refuges serve as an important starting point for addressing this serious threat. Indeed, the Refuge System is a cornerstone of all wildlife conservation in America.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) prompted the establishment of several new refuges, and it also redirected management emphasis for some existing refuges. Since passage of the ESA, nearly 60 wildlife refuges have been created or modified specifically to recover threatened or endangered plants and animals.

Refuges protect our remaining wetlands

Wetlands are being lost to agricultural, commercial, and residential uses at an alarming rate: an estimated 100,000 acres every year. In the prairie pothole region of the north-central United States alone, the Refuge System contains about two million acres of wetlands. While this represents less than two percent of the landscape in the region, it supports 23 percent of the area's waterfowl, the threatened piping plover, and other rare and unique species such as mountain lions, blue grouse, wolverines and the prairie fringed orchid. The 600-square-mile Okefenokee Refuge in Georgia is one of the largest wetlands in the U.S. and has been designated a Wetland of International Importance. It is home to some 15,000 alligators, wood storks, egrets, herons and neotropical songbirds, as well as carnivorous plants such as the hooded pitcher plant and golden trumpet.

More important today than at any time in history

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt set aside the first national wildlife refuge on Florida's Pelican Island to protect bird species that were being hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes. Now managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency within the Department of the Interior, the Refuge System protects 94 million acres of pristine land and water.During its first century, the Refuge System was managed as a collection of islands rather than as an integrated network of ecosystems. It was not until 1997, when Congress passed the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, that the System had a single, overarching mission of conservation and uniform procedures for its management.With the expansion of the System, passage of legislation like the Improvement Act, and the influence of the field of conservation biology, which centers on the importance of preserving biodiversity and keeping ecosystems intact, it is now clear that refuges are in a singular position - one that makes it possible for them to remain more insulated from human influence than any other lands in the country.As important as refuges were early in the conservation movement, especially for migratory birds, in the future refuges will be indispensable to the very survival of all our native plants and animals.

Issues and Threats on the Refuge System

Insidious threats accumulate

Our national wildlife refuges confront a number of problems that accumulate over time and compound one another, amounting to a tremendous toll on wildlife and habitats -

Out-of-control invasive species that crowd out native plants, animals, and habitat
Poor water quality, water shortages resulting from lost battles over water rights, and eroding water management facilities, all of which harm wetlands
Encroaching sprawl that degrades water and habitat quality
Disruptive public activities occurring on refuges, disturbing fragile plants and animals
A lack of basic biological information needed to make sound management decisions
Inadequate staffing, facilities, and programs to involve and educate the public about the importance of supporting these places.

Underfunding exacerbates the problem

At the root of many of these threats is a nearly $2-billion backlog in refuge funding that stems from decades of underfunding by Congress and presidential administrations. Taking just one of these threats as an example, in 1998, combined invasive plant and animal control cost the System about $13 million. By July 2000, the problem had worsened, and the cost had risen to $120 million. Today the figure is estimated to be upwards of $150 million. With an already massive backlog in refuge funding, the rising cost of invasive species control alone could threaten the future of the refuges. To make matters worse, as funding shortages limit the ability of refuge employees to implement key conservation measures, there is increasing pressure to accommodate rapidly growing public visitation.

The American public: key to saving the refuges

About 37 million people visit refuges every year - for wildlife observation and photography, environmental education or hunting and fishing. The Improvement Act of 1997 declares that "wildlife-dependent" activities will be encouraged to build support for refuges and wildlife conservation in general. In refuge planning and management, these uses receive special consideration above all other general public uses.Many visitors are children whose schools arrange day-long trips or long-term outdoor programs. Refuges provide wonderful outdoor classrooms for teaching children about art, science, and nearly every other discipline, using nature as a context for learning. And because there are so many refuges close to cities, even typically underserved children get the chance to learn about conservation.The 36,000 citizens across the country who regularly volunteer at their local refuges are invaluable, because of the System's massive funding crisis. In 2000, volunteers donated a staggering 1.5 million hours of their time, which amounts to 20 percent of the staff work completed in the System. Their contributions equate to 639 full-time employees and $14 million in services.Those who volunteer their time at refuges, those who visit for a special purpose or simply to experience the place, children who are developing their attitudes toward conservation - these are all critically important constituencies for the refuges.

Advocacy for the Refuge System

NWRA's mission: To protect, enhance, and expand the National Wildlife Refuge System, lands set aside by the American people to protect our country's diverse wildlife heritage.

Overarching impact

The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) is dedicated to increasing the public's awareness, involvement, and support for wildlife refuges. NWRA concentrates on policy initiatives that have an overarching impact on the Refuge System and draws attention to them through comprehensive national and local media outreach strategies. By generating visibility around refuge threats that occur on a large percentage of refuges, we hope to energize communities and lawmakers to take positive steps to protect not only their local refuges but also the System as a whole.

NWRA consistently monitors legislation affecting wildlife refuges, such as measures that deal with the funding, management, and growth of the Refuge System, and frequently meets with Members of Congress and their staff to cultivate support and leadership on refuge issues, and to express its opposition to potential threats to the System. NWRA advocates adequate funding and improved policy guidance for the System, assisting individual refuges with particular needs, and networking with local citizen support groups. We assist the 220 "Friends" volunteer groups in building their skills as advocates, so they can address decision-makers more effectively. At least once a year, we arrange for these individuals to visit their legislative representatives on Capitol Hill.

A final thought

The National Wildlife Refuge System has no equal when it comes to conserving our nation's rich wildlife heritage. For 37 million people each year, refuges are places to visit and appreciate our natural surroundings. For the thousands of plant and wildlife species that depend on them, refuges provide invaluable sanctuary.

The future of refuges is intimately tied to the future of conservation in this country, as more and more refuges become the focal points in a complex web of private lands, local and state parks, and other federally protected lands including national parks and national forests. Unlike any other lands, public or private, the primary purpose of refuge lands is the conservation of plants and wildlife - no other places can fill the niche of refuges.

Nevertheless, the Refuge System is besieged by a host of threats, and despite sometimes-concerted attention from a range of different national organizations, it finds itself in need of a consistent advocate on its behalf. NWRA proudly accepts this challenge and strives to fulfill its highly important mission in making the Refuge System the best it can be.

(return to top)