Your Help Is Needed Now

Your help is needed NOW to speak up for the over 560 National Wildlife Refuges, 38 wetland management districts, and five marine national monuments spanning from the Caribbean to the Pacific and Maine to Alaska.  There is at least one national wildlife refuge in each state.  The National Wildlife Refuge System is the largest and most diverse network of lands and waters dedicated to ensuring the long-term future of America’s rich fish and wildlife heritage.  National wildlife refuges provide important habitat for more than 380 threatened or endangered species.  Many refuges also conserve Congressionally designed wilderness and a range of historical and cultural resources.  Protecting these refuges provides us with abundant wildlife, clean water and world-class recreation.

On Friday, February 14th there was a mass firing of 420 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees, many of whom are critical to the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

The Refuge System is not a bloated bureaucracy. 

Its workforce has shrunk to only 2353 – that’s down 30% from where they were 15 years ago.

Refuges are LOCAL assets to communities. Refuges enjoy visitors from around the world who want to connect with and observe America’s unique wildlife. They are economic engines generating on average $4 in economic activity for every $1 appropriated to run them – in many small, rural communities, these wild lands drive the local economy. But perhaps most importantly, refuges are where local people recreate, re-charge, and connect with nature.

Tell Congress and the Trump Administration that cutting the budget of the Refuge System won’t solve the national deficit problem, but will cause significant damage to local economies and communities and affect the wildlife that the Service was established in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt to conserve and protect for the continuing benefit of the American people.

Don’t let the current administration and Congress decimate the Refuge System! It’s time to stand up for what you believe is important to your community!

Read the Press Release from the National Wildlife Refuge Association ➞

View a Fact Sheet on the Funding Challenges, from the National Wildlife Refuge Association ➞