Thank you for visiting our website. One of the main goals of this Refuge Road Program Website is to provide you valuable information and resources so you can take full advantage all the opportunities under the Refuge Road Program. The home page has links to both national websites and the current Five Year Plan for future Refuge Road projects. If you have any questions feel free to contact the Refuge Road Coordinator by clicking on the Contact Coordinator button on the home page.
Visitation is expected to increase to over 61.2 million by 2009. Generally, most of the visitors arrive using ground transportation in the form of private vehicles that allow them to travel to and within Service areas for recreational opportunities.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is improving public access to refuges and waterfowl production areas as part of our effort to make public visits as enjoyable as possible, have more people and organizations become active partners with the Refuge System, and to encourage the public to become better stewards of our wildlife resources. Improved roads will provide more access to wildlife and provide more wildlife-oriented recreational opportunities.
As part of the Fish and Wildlife Service's commitment to improved customer service, the Federal Highway Administration and the Fish and Wildlife Service have entered into a Cooperative Agreement for the management and improvement of public use roads within the National Wildlife Refuge System. The public and interested organizations are invited to participate in the planning process for transportation issues in the development of the individual refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plans and step-down management plans.
This program relates directly to the Refuge System's commitments in "Fulfilling the Promise". This document identified wildlife, habitat and people as the major components of the Service's program to improve the National Wildlife Refuge System.
The Refuge System's goals, in "Fulfilling the Promise," are to protect wildlife, enhance habitat, and provide the public with understanding and appreciation of fish and wildlife ecology and man's role in his environment, and to provide refuge visitors with high quality, safe recreational experiences oriented toward wildlife.
We invite you to visit a national wildlife refuge or waterfowl production area , the next time you are out our way.
