|
| A Tradition Begins
| 1903 - President Theodore Roosevelt establishes
America's first National Wildlife Refuge on Pelican Island, Florida.
Paul Kroegel, its first warden, protects the island's pelicans, egrets,
and cranes from hunters. |
| 1934 - Congress passes The Federal Duck Stamp Act
to raise funds for
purchase of National Wildlife Refuge lands. |
 |
|
|
1937 - Moosehorn
National Wildlife Refuge is purchased with Duck Stamp funds and established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is one of the
oldest National Wildlife Refuges and a
part of the early conservation movement in America. |
1997 - Congress
passes the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act and it is signed by President Bill Clinton. The
Act gives the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service clear guidance in administering National
Wildlife Refuges. Wildlife conservation is top priority. However, it also names secondary public uses to include hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education and interpretation.
Today - The National
Wildlife Refuge System is the world's most comprehensive system of lands
dedicated to wildlife conservation. National wildlife refuges provide breeding grounds and migratory stops
for wildlife. Refuges span the United States from Alaska to the Florida
Keys and include small islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific. |
|
