National Wildlife Refuge System Celebrates 100th Birthday; Special Events Planned for Missouri Refuges

It began in March 1903 with a decisive, conservation-minded president, one man, and one tiny on east coast of Florida. Now, 100 years later, the National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has emerged as one of the worlds conservation success stories, helping to protect wildlife and habitats on more than 540 refuges encompassing 95 million acres across the United States.

The refuge system was born March 14, 1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the protection of herons, egrets and pelicans on three-acre Pelican from poachers and aggressive market hunters. Paul Kroegel, who had been hired a year earlier by Florida Audubon Society to protect the islands birds and their eggs from hunters, was hired as the sanctuarys first warden and only employee.

Pelican National Wildlife Refuge will take the national spotlight March 14, 2003, when the Service joins with local communities and other partners to host special events commemorating the birthplace of the Refuge System and its Centennial. Special events "Celebrating a Century of Conservation&quotWill be held in Missouri and throughout nation during 2003.

Missouris National Wildlife Refuges provide glimpses of the landscape that Lewis and Clark encountered on their journey west. Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge includes units along the Missouri River where this much-changed waterway is allowed to function naturally. Great River National Wildlife Refuge, with units along the Mississippi River near St. Louis, provides critical wetland and river habitats for migrating waterfowl, as well as opportunities for people to see and enjoy its many resources.

Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge north of St. Joseph is noted for its loess bluff hills and its annual winter influx of hundreds of thousands of snow geese and hundreds of bald eagles. Bald eagles also flock to Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, located east of Squaw Creek, providing visitors with up-close views of this threatened species.

Visitors in southern Missouri will find a host of opportunities at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and its satellite units Ozark Cavefish and Pilot Knob. Mingo provides a rare opportunity to see an area that was once part of the Missouri River. The river shifted course more than 18,000 years ago, and the resulting Mingo Swamp is a haven for migratory birds and other wildlife.

Refuge locations, directions and a calendar of events are available on the web at http://midwest.fws.gov or by emailing r3centennial@fws.gov Event information is also available by phone from the following refuges:

Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge 573-876-1826

Great River National Wildlife Refuge 573-847-2333

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge 573-222-3589

Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge 660-442-3187

Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge 660-856-3323

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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 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 fish and wildlife agencies.