CELEBRATE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE WEEK OCTOBER 8- 14

Celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week, October 8-14, by participating in any one of more than 230 fishing derbies, nature walks, birding tours, special hunts, photography and wildlife art contests, environmental education activities, and other events taking place at national wildlife refuges all across the country.

"National wildlife refuges enjoy a unique niche among the nations public lands, and National Wildlife Refuge Week is a great opportunity to visit one for the first time," said Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior. AMany wildlife species are very active in the fall, so its one of the best times of year to experience the drama of animals in the wild."

Nearly 100 years since Teddy Roosevelt established the first refuge, the National Wildlife Refuge System has grown into a 93 million acre network of lands and waters, protected and nurtured as habitat for a tremendous diversity of plant and animal species. National wildlife refuges range from tiny Pelican along Florida