What We Do
Wildlife conservation is at the heart of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It drives everything on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands and waters managed within the Refuge System, from the purposes for which a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge is established to the recreational activities offered to the resource management tools used. Using conservation best practices, the Refuge System manages Service lands and waters to help ensure the survival of native wildlife species.
Very little active management takes place at Wapack National Wildlife Refuge. The donors who transferred the land to the Service required that it be managed in a ”wilderness-like” setting. The terms of their deed prohibit hunting, fishing and trapping, cutting trees (except for maintaining trails), or driving motorized vehicles.
Management and Conservation
Refuges deploy a host of scientifically sound management tools to address biological challenges. These tools span active water management to wilderness character monitoring, all aimed at ensuring a balanced conservation approach to benefit both wildlife and people. At this field station our conservation tool box includes:
Planning – Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Compatibility Determinations
Invasive Species
Inventory and Monitoring
Law Enforcement
Recreation Management
Species Research
Wildlife Health
Our Projects and Research
Wapack National Wildlife Refuge is managed to preserve its natural conditions in a setting that appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature.
From the refuge’s Comprehensive Conservation Plan, there are three broad management goals:
Goal 1. Allow natural processes and disturbances to enhance biological diversity and integrity of upland wildlife habitat.
Goal 2. Establish a public use program that will encourage compatible, low-impact recreation on refuge trails.
Goal 3. Enhance the conservation and stewardship of wildlife resources through partnerships with public and private conservation groups, private landowners, State agencies and local entities.