In Need of Refuge | By Noah Matson | Grist | Counter Culture

In Need of Refuge

By Noah Matson

13 Mar 2003

Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

540 -- number of national wildlife refuges in the U.S.¹

95.3 million -- size, in acres, of the refuge system²

19.3 million -- size, in acres, of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge in the country³

0.6 -- size, in acres, of Minnesota's Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, the smallest refuge in the country⁴

20.7 million -- acres of designated wilderness in the refuge system⁵

59 -- number of refuges established to protect endangered species⁶

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1.4 million -- number of volunteer-hours contributed to refuges⁷

22 -- percentage of all work on refuges done by volunteers⁸

8 million -- acres of the refuge system invaded by invasive species⁹

675 -- number of invasive species identified so far on national wildlife refuges¹⁰

2 billion -- funding backlog, in dollars, of the refuge system¹¹

200 -- approximate number of refuges with no on-site staff¹²

350 million -- increase in refuge funding, in dollars per year, needed to fully fund the refuge system¹³

400.5 million -- taxpayer portion of the cost, in dollars, of the Paul Brown Stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals¹⁴

327.8 million -- cost of one C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft¹⁵

Sources:
1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, press release, 27 Feb 2003.
2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty.
3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty.
4. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty.
5. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty.
6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System.
7. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "2001 Volunteer Report" (pdf), July 2002.
8. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "2001 Volunteer Report" (pdf), July 2002.
9. National Wildlife Refuge Association, "Silent Invasion" (pdf), October 2002.
10. National Wildlife Refuge Association, "Silent Invasion" (pdf), October 2002.
11. Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, "Restoring America's Wildlife Legacy" (pdf), 2001.
12. Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, "Restoring America's Wildlife Legacy" (pdf), 2001.
13. Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, "Restoring America's Wildlife Legacy" (pdf), 2001.
14. National Taxpayer's Union, press release, 28 Feb 2001.
15. Center for Defense Information, "Fiscal Year 2004 Budget," 03 Feb 2003.

Noah Matson is director of Defenders of Wildlife's public lands program. To find out more about national wildlife refuges and to take action on refuge issues, visit www.SaveRefuges.org.

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