National Wildlife Refuge System
IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
Map of the United States
Location	United States
Area	96,013,646 acres (388,533 km²)
Established	1903
Visitors	39,847,108 (in 2004)
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge system is a network of lands and waters managed to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat.

The system consists of over 500 refuges across the nation. Nearly all of them have the words "National Wildlife Refuge", "Wetland Management District", or "Wildlife Management Area" in their names; notable exceptions include:

• Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
• Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
• National Bison Range
• National Elk Refuge
• National Key Deer Refuge
• Patuxent Research Refuge
• Sullys Hill National Game Preserve

History

See main article: History of the National Wildlife Refuge System

Statistics (as of 2004)

Pelican Island was the nation's first wildlife refuge

Physical Features

• Area of land under management (Stewardship Lands): = 96,013,646 acres (388,533 km²)¹
• Area of land less than fee title = 3,775,246 acres (15,278 km²)¹
• Area of wetlands = 45,677,973 acres (184,852 km²)¹
• Number of management units = 632 (includes 545 refuges, 37 wetland management districts, and 50 coordination areas)¹
• Number of Wilderness areas = 75¹
• Area of Wilderness = 20,698,845 acres (83,765 km²)¹
• Length of rivers within the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System = 1,051 miles (1,691 km)¹
• Length of refuge boundary with Mexico = 120 miles (193 km)¹

Management

• Area of wetlands restored in 2004 = 89,262 acres (361 km²)¹
• Area burned in 2004 to reduce hazardous fuels = 45,012 acres (182 km²)¹

Visitation

• Total visitors in 2004 = 39,847,108¹
• Total visits in 2004 = 72,563,393¹

Volunteers

• Total volunteers in 2004 = 32,933¹
• Total volunteer hours in 2004 = 1,339,427¹
• Value of volunteer hours in 2004 = $23,024,750¹

Real Property

• Length of roads maintained = 11,700 miles (18,800 km)¹
• Number of buildings maintained = 5,850¹
• Number of employee housing units = 660¹
• Number of bridges = 650 (0 tunnels)¹
• Miles of fencing = 13,500¹
• Number of water control structures maintained = 9,100¹

Personnel

• Total staff = 3,809 FTE’s (Full Time Equivalents, thus two half-time employees count as one FTE)¹
• Number of refuge enforcement officers = 491¹
• Number of firefighter FTE’s = 538¹

See also

• List of National Wildlife Refuges
• Timeline of environmental events
• Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
• Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service

External links

• Official website of the National Wildlife Refuge
• Legislation
• Official Web site of the Blue Goose Alliance - a Non-profit organization promoting the establishment of the NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SERVICE as a separate agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior
• SSRN: The Significance of National Wildlife Refuges in the Development of U.S. Conservation Policy
• National Wildlife Refuge Association - A nonprofit entity supporting the National Wildlife Refuge System
• RefugeWatch - A blog that follows news and events from the National Wildlife Refuge System
• Schroeder, R. 2008. Comprehensive conservation planning and ecological sustainability within the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy 4(1):38-44. http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol4iss1/communityessay.schroeder.html.

References