National Wildlife Refuge System

Theodore Roosevelt created the first national wildlife refuge on March 14, 1903, at Pelican Island in Florida, to protect brown pelicans and other birds from hunters selling feathers for women's hats. The system grew through purchases funded largely by the Federal Duck Stamp, which hunters have been required to buy since 1934. It is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and today includes more than 570 refuges and 38 wetland management districts, with at least one refuge in every state and territory.

Unlike national parks or multiple-use lands, refuges are managed first for fish, wildlife, and plants. The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 made conservation the system's mission and allowed compatible uses, giving priority to hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, photography, education, and interpretation. About 95 million acres of land and water are included, most of it in Alaska, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge alone covers about 19.6 million acres.

The Arctic refuge's coastal plain has been fought over for decades. A 2017 tax law opened it to oil leasing, the Biden administration canceled leases, and a 2025 law and administration actions moved to reopen it. Refuges have also faced budget and staff cuts and invasive species, and in 2016 armed occupiers held the Malheur refuge headquarters in Oregon for 41 days in protest of federal land policy. Supporters of more development say the land holds valuable resources, while conservation groups say refuges protect wildlife that has few other places to go.