Speech: Steven Williams Remarks for
Refuge Centennial Event, Riverview Park, Sebastian, Florida
March 14, 2003

March 14, 2003

Thank you Roy. Wow, what a way to kick off the next century of conservation. It is partners like Disney, and the hundreds of others who are joining our celebration here today, who have helped make the National Wildlife Refuge System a success over the last 100 years. Your donation to a scholarship fund will help educate new wildlife stewards to take us through the next 100 years! Maybe some of the young people we have in our audience today will be the ones to benefit from your generosity. This is a real investment in the future of conservation, and we appreciate it greatly.

Speaking of young people – I’d like to take just a minute to say a special hello to the students in our audience. It’s great to see so many of you here. You are the future for wildlife in our country.

I talk a lot about kids when I go around the country, because what they learn and do is so important. Kids, today I want to talk about some things that I hope you will relate to – what it means to be a hero, why teamwork is important, and why we all need to turn off the television and the videogames once in a while and go outside.

I know that the events that happened 100 years ago, here at Pelican Island, seem like ancient history to you. But the people we are honoring today – the ones who started the National Wildlife Refuge System – were a lot like you. They made a difference – and you can, too.

Raise your hand if you’ve seen the movies “Daredevil” or “Spiderman” – and grown-ups, don’t be ashamed to admit you have too! Those are movies about super-heroes. But in real life, heroes don’t wear funny costumes, and sometimes they don’t even know they’re heroes. Paul Kroegel – our very first national wildlife refuge manager – didn’t set out to be a hero. He might be surprised if he could see us all here today, honoring his legacy. He just wanted to stop people from killing the pelicans to supply feathers for ladies’ hats and other fashions. He couldn’t do it alone – he needed a team. He joined forces with Frank Chapman of the American Ornithological Union. Through his connections, Chapman was helpful in getting President Roosevelt to set aside Pelican Island as a Federally protected bird refuge.

Because of their dedication – as individuals, and as a team – they made a difference. They were the first people in the National Wildlife Refuge System to make a difference -- but they weren’t the last. I want to take a moment here to honor another Refuge System hero -- another man who did not set out to be a hero, but to whom all of us owe a debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay. That man is Richard Guadagno, a national wildlife refuge manager from California, who was one of the passengers who resisted the terrorists on the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11. Today we are honored to have Rich’s sister Lori Guadagno here with us. Please join me in expressing to Lori our continuing support and appreciation for the sacrifice that Rich and the entire Guadagno family have made on behalf of all Americans.

Our National Wildlife Refuges have been such a great success because of dedicated people like Rich Guadagno, and Paul Kroegel, and all the current and former national wildlife refuge managers and employees who are here today. Teddy Roosevelt’s idea – to set aside a Federal bird refuge – was the beginning of what has become the world’s largest collection of lands dedicated specifically to wildlife. Today the National Wildlife Refuge System has grown to include 95 million acres on 540 different refuges. There are refuges in all fifty states and in many US territories, and within an hour’s drive of most major cities.

What began as a refuge for pelicans is now a system of lands that benefits countless forms of life, including people. Today some 35 million people come to visit national wildlife refuges every year.

The outdoor opportunities these refuges provide are so important. Today, so many people spend their days confined to the sprawl of cities. Lots of kids are growing up who only see wildlife on television, or maybe at the zoo – seldom, or never, in its natural habitat.

As our population grows, putting more pressure on wild places and wildlife, it gets harder to keep people connected to nature. National Wildlife Refuges are trying to fill this need. But they are not doing it alone – many of you here today, and thousands of others across the country, have made it possible by joining our Refuge Team.

Hundreds of refuges partner with schools in their communities to provide environmental education for our children. Many work closely with kids in cities who otherwise might not have a wildlife experience. Refuges offer great opportunities for hunting, fishing, bird watching, photography, and nature walks. Refuges instill a lasting respect for the outdoors, the kind of respect on which conservation is founded.

We could not do this without the help of our partners and friends. There are 11 volunteers for every employee in the National Wildlife Refuge System. We have 225 Friends organizations and more than 34,000 volunteers who work at refuges around the country. Right here at Pelican Island, we have more than 150 volunteers to the refuge. Volunteers from the Pelican Island Preservation Society and Pelican Island Audubon Society count turtles, park cars during events and lead bird walks. To all of our volunteers and friends, on behalf of the entire Fish and Wildlife Service, let me say thank you.

We also owe a great deal to our partner organizations. Companies like Disney, ConocoPhillips, Southern, Eagle Optics, Wild Birds Unlimited, and many others, have funded projects to help our refuges and restore wildlife. Some of you here today -- like Stuart Strahl of the Florida Audubon Society -- represent groups who have been with us since the very beginning. Some of you, who represent the organizations belonging to the CARE group, have dedicated countless hours in the last several years to make sure that our Centennial celebration provides a lasting and meaningful legacy. Many of you are here in the audience today, and to you also – one more time – I would like to say thank you.

Like the conservationists 100 years ago, we’ve also gotten some help from high places. I’d like to thank Secretary Norton and Assistant Secretary Manson for their support, and to add a special thank you to the many Members of Congress who have supported us. I am glad that Senator Nelson and Congressman Weldon were able to join us today.

The National Wildlife Refuge System is an evolving network of lands managed to meet the conservation needs of our ever-changing world. . What will remain constant is the need for local people to care about conserving these special places. Paul Kroegel and Frank Chapman may have never imagined the consequences of their concerns about the water birds here in Florida; nevertheless, their story shows us how the largest strides in conservation begin with the smallest steps taken closest to home.

Theodore Roosevelt wrote: “Wild beasts and birds are by right not the property of the people who are alive today, but the property of unknown generations, whose belongings we have no right to squander.”

When he said that, President Roosevelt was talking about you kids here today – and your kids. With your help, we will succeed in conserving this wonderful system of lands for another 100 years. Thank you – and kids, we’re counting on you.