Wildlife Refuge

Introduction

A wildlife refuge is land that has been set aside to help protect wild animals, birds, reptiles, and plant species that reside in that area, or that use the area during migration.

Although some wildlife refuges or portions of the land remain undeveloped and in a natural state, other portions may be altered. Alterations are usually made to assist certain species of wildlife. An example is the planting of rice in areas that contain populations of water birds.

Other alterations are permitted for commercial purposes such as lumbering, mining, and oil exploration. These uses are contentious and must be carefully monitored and controlled to prevent overexploitation and land degradation.

Historical Background and Scientific Foundations

The first wildlife refuge in the United States was Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge located on the Atlantic coast of Florida was created by American President Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) in 1903.

The idea of setting land aside from development as a haven for wildlife began over 50 years earlier, when explorers returning from the western United States reported on the mass slaughter of species such as the buffalo. Even then the realization was growing that without human intervention in the form of protected lands, animal and bird species could become threatened or extinct.

In 1864, an act of Congress transferred Yosemite Valley to the State of California with the condition that fish and animal species within the allotted area be protected from harm. The area subsequently became a federal government responsibility. In 1872, the first national park was established (Yellowstone National Park), although no provisions were made for the protection of wildlife until passage of the Yellowstone Protective Act in 1894.

Following the establishment of the Pelican Island refuge, wildlife refuges were soon established on many other parcels of land and water. By 1905, the Bureau of Biological Survey (one of the predecessors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which now manages federal wildlife refuges) had been created in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with the responsibility for managing the refuges.

Passage of the Migratory Bird Act in 1918 spurred the creation of refuges specifically for the protection of waterfowl; the first was the Upper Mississippi River Wild Life and Fish Refuge established in 1924. Passage of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act in 1934 authorized the acquisition of land specifically for the protection of fish and wildlife.

The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act passed in 1966 has been very influential in guiding the development of wildlife refuges in the United States; the act specified the guidelines and policies for the creation of refuges.

As of 2008, there are over 500 sites designated as a National Wildlife Refuge, comprising over 96 million acres in all 50 states and in U.S. territories including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, almost 46 million acres of which are wetlands. In addition, the various refuges contain undisturbed wilderness (almost 21 million acres), islands, lakes, forests, deserts, and mountainous regions.

Impacts and Issues

Wildlife refuges have played an influential role in the conservation of land and natural resources in the United States. Their role in the protection of non-migrating wildlife and migratory species has been invaluable in protecting many species from the assaults of land development and pollution that has accompanied the growth of the United States.

For example, the Blackwater Refuge located in eastern Maryland, which was established in 1933 as a haven for ducks and geese during their migrations along the Atlantic Flyway, is used as a rest and refueling stop by an estimated 35,000 geese and 15,000 ducks during their November southern migration. Without the availability of this region, the massive development that has taken place along the northeastern seaboard of the United States would hamper the success of duck and geese migration.

The state of Alaska alone contains 77 million acres of refuge land. The Alaska National Wildlife Reserve,

WORDS TO KNOW

EXTINCTION: The total disappearance of a species or the disappearance of a species from a given area.

LAND DEGRADATION: Gradual land impoverishment caused primarily by human activities such as agriculture.

WETLAND: A shallow ecosystem where the land is submerged for at least part of the year.

which lies entirely north of the Arctic Circle, has become a flashpoint between environmentalists and those who feel that such reserves can be used both for wildlife protection and for commercial gain. In this case, the commodity is oil; interested companies have estimated that upward of 16 million barrels lies beneath the tundra of the refuge. In 1995, Congress approved oil drilling in the refuge, only to have the initiative vetoed by President Bill Clinton. In 2005, approval for drilling was passed by Congress during budget proceedings, but an outcry led to blockage of the bill by the Senate.

Although no further movement to authorize drilling has been made as of 2008, some environmentalists caution that the growing need for new oil reserves, along with the rising price of oil, will see the return of pressure to drill in the Alaska reserve.

See Also Conservation; Wildlife Population Management; Wildlife Protection Policies and Legislation

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Bass, Rick. Caribou Rising: Defending the Porcupine Herd, Gwich-’in Culture, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 2004.

Butcher, Russell. America’s National Wildlife Refuges: A Complete Guide. Lanham, MD: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 2003.

Waterman, Jonathan. Where Mountains Are Nameless: Passion and Politics in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. New York: W. W. Norton, 2007.