Search refuges of the Nationatal Wildlife Refuge System by state, zipcode or view a full list.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Wildlife Refuge Association want your opinion to shape wildlife conservation efforts.
Participants of a national conference will adopt a draft plan of recommendations for future management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System. The conference is set for July 10 in Madison, Wisc. following the Conserving the Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next Generation one-year campaign.
That campaign, a public engagement effort to hear the public’s ideas toward management priorities, will end on Earth Day, April 22.
Each U.S. state and territory has a national wildlife refuge. There are 553 throughout the country. The Great Lakes region has 63.
The first was created in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt in Florida’s Pelican Island. The rest have set aside habitat to protect the United States’ wild half. Click on a state to see its refuges. Minnesota has 20. Click on a refuge to learn about its history, management, recreation and education along with wildlife and habitat and get links to its main website. New York’s Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge waters surround Roosevelt’s home, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site.
The service and association want to hear your ideas to better preserve these federally set aside lands.
Readers can suggest a new idea or vote for someone else’s. They can also submit comments on the document the organizations drafted.
Recent ideas range from a greater focus on grasslands to establishing programs that encourage future generations to explore the refuges, a video footage bank for videographers to bolster refuge systems funds or mitigating land use to preserve protected habitat.
Public comments submitted before April 22 will be summarized in the conclusion of the draft.
Great Lakes Region’s national wildlife refuges:
Illinois-7
Indiana-3
Michigan-7
Minnesota-20
New York-10
Ohio-4
Wisconsin-10