Explore your national wildlife refuges!

National wildlife refuges protect important land for wildlife. They restore and enhance habitat, and they engage visitors in the Service's conservation mission. During National Wildlife Refuge Week, we’ll focus a series on how national wildlife refuges help recover threatened and endangered species and how they help accomplish the mission. Here's an introduction from Scott Kahan, northeast chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Scott Kahan (far left) at Monomoy National
Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts.

Spanning more than half a million acres, 72 national wildlife refuges are spread throughout the Northeast Region from Maine to Virginia. From the breathtaking views of forests in West Virginia to dynamic Atlantic coastal habitat communities on our eastern borders, refuges work to conserve habitat for wildlife and protect our nation’s natural resources.

While protecting our public lands ensures that we have clean air and water and healthy habitats for wildlife, these lands are here for you too. This week, October 14-20, I encourage you to get outside and explore the outdoors and celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week. You can take pictures, fish, hunt and learn about the outdoors. There is plenty to explore and a number of activities to keep you busy.

Get a glimpse of the fall waterfowl migration at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in New York. Watch the flocks of snow geese at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. Or walk a historic trail at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.

Whatever you decide to do, spending your time at a refuge this week is a great way to see the lands that refuges have conserved and the work we are doing to make sure these lands are here for future generations to enjoy. 

More:

• News release
• Events calendar
• More posts in the series (coming soon)