This is National Wildlife Refuge Week. Celebrate by participating in nature walks, birding tours, photography and wildlife art contests, environmental education activities, and many other events taking place at refuges all across the country. For example, the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is hosting an open house in Homer this weekend, and Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is hosting a week-long wildlife art show at its Visitors Center.
At a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reception yesterday, Regional Director Dave Allen presented five "Alaska Refuge Partnership" awards recognizing the substantial contributions of private citizens and organizations to the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System in Alaska. The five recipients were: the Alaska Natural History Association, the Association of Village Council Presidents, Ducks Unlimited, the Homer Chamber of Commerce and The Nature Conservancy. (More information about individual recipients at the end of this release).
Governor Tony Knowles signed an Executive Proclamation designating this week as Wildlife Refuge Week in Alaska. In the Proclamation, he encourages all Alaskans to join the rest of the Nation in rediscovering and celebrating the magnificent public lands network of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
"National Wildlife Refuge Week is a great opportunity for those who have never experienced a refuge to visit one for the first time," said Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt. "The Refuge System has enjoyed a remarkable renaissance in recent years. There is strong support from the Administration, Congress, and conservation organizations. Public visitation is at an all time high."
From a single three acre in 1903, the National Wildlife Refuge System has grown into a 93-million-acre network of lands and waters, protected for the American people and nurtured as habitat for an incredible variety of plant and animalspecies. From the half acre Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota to the 20 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge here in Alaska, the National Wildlife Refuge System is the only network of federal lands dedicated to wildlife conservation.
"Wildlife always comes first on refuges, but the System welcomes almost 35 million visitors each year," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "The special events make National Wildlife Refuge Week an especially good time to visit, and in some parts of the country, the fall migration will be getting underway for millions of birds."
Although Alaskas 16 refuges represent only three percent of the total number of Refuges, they contain 85 percent of the systems acreage. Put another way, if the entire National Wildlife Refuge System is the size of Montana, Alaskan refuges are the size of New Mexico, and the remaining U.S. refuges would fit within West Virginia.
"Thanks to strong partnerships with individual Alaskans and private organizations, sharing an appreciation of our natural world is not just a dream," Alaska Regional Director Dave Allen said. "We are honored and grateful to have these fine organizations and individuals contributing to the conservation mission of Alaskas National Wildlife Refuges."
For more information on the National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wildlife Refuge Week, or individual refuges in Alaska, visit the Service website at http://www.r7.fws.gov/ or point your browser to http://www.refuges.fws.gov"> and click on "special events.For a copy of a visitors guide, call 1(800)344-WILD.
Alaska Refuge Partnership Award Recipients
(1) Mr. Myron Naneng, Association of Village Council Presidents
The Association of Village Council Presidents played an instrumental role in the development of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Goose Management Plan, a landmark agreement for cooperative waterfowl management. This Plan has proven very beneficial for the recovery of several species of sub-Arctic nesting geese.
(2) Mr. John Nagel, Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited was recognized for their printing of the Western Alaska Goose Calendar, the Yukon Delta Waterfowl Nest Plot survey, funding for interpretive signs for the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, and joint mapping ventures with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others to examine wetlands on a regional scale in Alaska.
(3) Ms. Michelle Brown, The Nature Conservancy
Ms. Brown was honored for her work to protect the Kenai River watershed and her leadership of the "Friends of the Kenai Refuge.
(4) Mr. Charles Money, The Alaska Natural History Association
The Alaska Natural History Association received the Award for 20 years of support to eight refuge branch outlets of the Service. This partnership has become an essential part of the Services effort to provide customer service and educational materials to refuge visitors.
(5) Ms. Derotha Ferraro, Executive Director of the Homer Chamber of Commerce
The Homer Chamber of Commerce was recognized for their leadership in starting the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in 1993. This festival has brought enormous publicity to the Refuge and the entire Refuge System. The Chamber has also provided tireless support for development of the new Refuge headquarters and visitor center in Homer.
The National Wildlife Refuge System is enjoying a period of growing public interest and unprecedented support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Interior, the Administration, Congress, and conservation partners.
October 1997
The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act is signed into law. This first-ever organic legislation ends decades of debate over the Systems role, unequivocally naming wildlife conservation as the sole mission of the refuge system, and giving wildlife related recreational and educational uses--such as hunting, fishing, birdwatching, and environmental education-- priority over all other public uses on refuge lands.
October, 1997
Congress approves a historic $42 million budget increase for the refuge system in FY 1998, responding to an educational effort by the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement--a coalition of 16 conservation and outdoor sporting groups.
May 1998
"There are places on the Arctic Coastal Plain that should be forever set aside," Secretary Babbitt said about continued interest in oil development on the crown jewel of the refuge system. "The Administrations commitment to protect and preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has not and will not change."
June 1998
President Clinton signs the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century into law, providing $20 million in new funding for wildlife refuge roads each year from 1999 to 2003.
October 1998
Congress approves an additional $17.8 million budget increase for the refuge system for FY 1999.
October 1998
"Our land base needs the support of each and every one of us," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, naming efforts to strengthen the National Wildlife Refuge System as one of her top priorities as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
October 1998
President Clinton signs the National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Community Partnership Enhancement Act, encouraging new avenues for partnership projects and enabling the Service to expand a volunteer network that already accounts for 20 percent of all work performed on refuges and is worth $14 million.
October 1998
A proposal to punch a road through the heart of a wilderness area wilderness area
Wilderness areas are places untamed by humans. The Wilderness Act of 1964 allows Congress to designate wilderness areas for protection to ensure that America's pristine wild lands will not disappear. Wilderness areas can be part of national wildlife refuges, national parks, national forests or public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Learn more about wilderness area on Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, staunchly opposed by the Administration, fails in Congress. "If they can get away with this, your favorite park may be next," Secretary Babbitt said.
October 1998
The Keystone Conference is a rousing success. For the first time ever, 700 representatives from all National Wildlife Refuges and many partners gathered to refine the final draft of the systems roadmap for the future, a document called Fulfilling the Promise.
January 1999
The Department of the Interior requests a $1 million budget increase for the refuge system for FY 2000.
February 1999
Dupont announces it will consider alternatives to a proposed titanium dioxide mine adjacent to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. "This kind of dredging and strip mining is not an appropriate neighbor for 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 ," said Secretary Babbitt about the proposal.
March 1999
Fulfilling the Promise receives final approval. Implementation activities begin immediately.
May 1999
Director Clark announces that the beloved Blue Goose icon, designed by J.N. "Ding" Darling, father of the Federal Duck Stamp, will return to refuge entrance signs and brochures as the symbol of the refuge system.
July 1999
Secretary Babbitt calls the White River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas an "international treasure," deserving a place "in the national conscience" alongside the Florida Everglades.
August 1999
"My priorities for the new year include...the Pelican Refuge in Florida--Americas first wildlife refuge," said President Clinton in a radio address to the nation about protecting public lands. Director Clark places habitat adjacent to the refuge at the top of the Services priority list.
September 1999
Navassa National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico becomes Systems 520th refuge.
September 1999
Friends of Alamosa NWR in Colorado becomes the newest "Friends" group. Nearly 200 local organizations have formed cooperative relationships with nearby wildlife refuges.
October 1999
The refuge system welcomes 34 million Americans each year to hunt, fish, watch, photograph, and learn about wildlife, up from 27 million in 1994.
EDITORS: The Office of Media Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, can help your reporters visit virtually any of the 517 National Wildlife Refuges in the system. Contact Eric Eckl, 202-208-5636, or EMail a note at Eric_Eckl@fws.gov">.
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Connie M.J. Barclay
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93- million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management assistance offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state wildlife agencies.
