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Duck Stamps
2008 Federal Duck Stamp Since 1934, sales of Federal Duck Stamps to hunters, stamp collectors and other conservationists have raised more than $700 million that has been used to acquire more than 5.2 million acres of habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Learn More >>


 

Visit Patuxent Research Refuge with Smithsonian Program

Training crane chicks at Patuxent Research Refuge.
Photo Credit: USFWS
You are invited to join the Smithsonian Resident Associates for an October 10 behind-the-scenes tour of the captive breeding program for whooping cranes at Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, Maryland. Participants will learn how crane chicks are trained to follow an ultra light plane that leads them on their first fall migration to Florida. Learn More >>

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Endangered Butterfly Gets New Start

Lange's Metalmark Butterfly.
Photo Credit: Jerry Powell
About 30 endangered Lange's metalmark butterflies were returned to their native habitat on Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge in California after being raised in a special breeding facility by students and faculty at Moorpark College as part of a concerted effort to save the nearly extinct species. Antioch Dunes Refuge is the nation's only home for the butterfly that is fluttering dangerously close to extinction. Learn More >>

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Searching for Ivory-billed Woodpecker

State coordinators and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representatives will meet in Atlanta this month to review the 2007-2008 search for the ivory-billed woodpecker and discuss where to focus future searches. Organized searches were sparked by the dramatic rediscovery of the highly distinctive bird in February 2004 by a kayaker in eastern Arkansas' Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. Before that sighting, the woodpecker had been thought to be extinct in the United States. Read the full story in Refuge Update >>

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Civilian Conservation Corps Celebrates Milestone

Mike Eaton
Photo Credit: USFWS
To commemorate the accomplishments of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia honored Mike Eaton, a member of the CCC camp located on what is now refuge property in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach. The event not only marked the 75th anniversary of the CCC, but also the 70th anniversary of the refuge. Learn More >>

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Independent Evaluation Rates Refuge System

After extensive study from October 2006 through September 2007, an independent firm has determined that because the Refuge System experienced an 11 percent decline in real purchasing power between FY 2003 and the FY 2008 requested budget, the System has been unable to meet some of its strategic goals. Learn More >>

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2008-2009 Refuge-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations – Additions

This final rule published August 29, 2008 in the Federal Register. With this rule we open Hamden Slough in Minnesota to migratory bird and big game hunting and increase hunting opportunities at six other NWRs: Agassiz in Minnesota, Blackwater Maryland, Whittlesey Creek in Wisconsin, and Bayou Cocodrie, Tensas River and Upper Ouachita in Louisiana. You may view the rule at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-20022.pdf >>

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Celebrating Monarch Butterflies

Monarch Butterflies
Photo Credit: USFWS
Hundreds of national wildlife refuges and a host of programs by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protect and restore monarch butterfly habitat, monitor their transcontinental migration, and teach thousands of school children about their unique migration from Mexico through the United States on to Canada—and then back again.
Learn More >>

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Report Shows National Wildlife Refuges Provide Economic Boost

Environmental Tour at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland
Environmental Tour at Eastern Neck
National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland
Photo Credit: USFWS
Recreational use on national wildlife refuges generated almost $1.7 billion in total economic activity during fiscal year 2006, according to a new report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The report, titled Banking on Nature 2006: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wildlife Refuge Visitation was compiled by Service economists.
Summary Report >>
Read the report in PDF format >> (1.2 MB PDF)
Read the report in MS Word format >> (6.1 MB MS Word)

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2007 Federal Duck Stamp There's a New Way to Buy Federal Duck Stamps —
the E-Duck Stamp


Learn More >>

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A One-Stop Web Site that Makes it Easier for You to Participate in Federal Rulemaking

At www.regulations.gov you can find, review, and submit comments on Federal documents that are open for comment and published in the Federal Register, the Government's legal newspaper. As a member of the public, you can submit comments about these regulations, and have the Government take your views into account.

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Last Updated: September 15, 2008

 
HOT LINKS
Birding on Refuges >>
Fishing Guide >>
Visitor's Brochure >>
(995 KB PDF)
Comprehensive Conservation Planning by Region >>
Refuge Managers Address List >> (185 KB PDF)
MAPS

Map outline of the United States and territories

PDF Map Showing Location of All Refuges (as of 9/30/07)
(3.5 MB PDF) Use Adobe Acrobat Reader's zoom feature (magnifying glass) to enlarge sections of the map online. The map will print out legibly.

High Resolution PDF Map Showing Location of All Refuges
(8.6 MB PDF) Use Adobe Acrobat Reader's zoom feature (magnifying glass) to enlarge sections of the map online.

PDF Map Showing Locations of NWRS Wetland Management Districts (as of 9/30/07)  (1.3 MB PDF)

Visit the National Atlas Web Site >>

Purchase an NWRS wall map >>
National Wildlife Refuge System Stories and Articles from Newspapers Around the Country   Learn More >>
View Our Story Archives >>
Fish & Wildlife Journal >>


Refuge Update | General Interest | Habitats & Conservation | Policies & Budget | Education | 2003 Centennial Archives
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | National Wildlife Refuge System | Information Quality | USA.gov | Notices

For a Refuge System Visitors Guide
call 1-800-344-WILD

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