Spring 2003

Celebrating 100 Years Of The National Wildlife Refuge System
by Daniel S. Coggin

What started in 1903 with one, small, four-acre bird sanctuary off the coast of Florida has since grown to the world's largest network of lands managed for the benefit and protection of wildlife. The National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) System contains 540 refuges comprising 95 million acres. Like the people and country were they are found, these NWRs are very diverse and include lands from the Florida Keys to the frozen tundra of Alaska. They range in size from the 0.6 acre Mille Lacs NWR in Minnesota to the 19.2 million acre Arctic NWR in Alaska.

However, the national idea of protecting and preserving lands for wildlife started 31 years before 1903 when Yellowstone National Park was established. With the establishment of the park, hunting was prohibited, affording wildlife within the boundaries of the Park some degree of protection from the onslaught of market and sustenance hunters. This safe haven that was created would play a crucial role in the protection and future propagation of the last remnant wild buffalo herd in the nation.

With the passage of the Yellowstone Park Protection Act in 1894, the Park became the nation's first inviolate wildlife refuge in fact. However, almost a decade would have to pass before what we know as the NWR System would be created. It was President Theodore Roosevelt, a New York Republican, who, with 48 words, created what would be the nation's first NWR. Pelican Island, that small, four-acre bird sanctuary off the coast of Florida, was just the beginning.

Pelican Island was the first of 51 Executive Orders that President Roosevelt would sign during his Presidency establishing 25 NWRs in 17 States and Territories. On one day, February 25, 1909, President Roosevelt would create 17 different NWRs throughout the West including 13 on one Executive Order.

With the end of President Roosevelt's tenure, the growth of the NWR System slowed. It was not until 1916 with the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty with Great Britain did the conservation of lands for wildlife gain interest again. However, our nation was consumed with fighting World War I in Europe, so wildlife conservation, specifically the purchase of lands for refuges, would have to take a back seat for the time being.

Eventually, in 1924, Congress would take monumental steps forward in the creation of a NWR System by appropriating $1.5 million for the purchase of bottomlands along the Mississippi River. This marked the first time in history that Congress expressly set aside money for the purchase of land for wildlife refuges. The land purchased with this money would later become the Upper Mississippi River NWR.

In 1929, Congress passed the Norbeck Andersen Migratory Bird Conservation Act which authorized increasing appropriations from year to year and which also created the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. A move many would say was none too soon. Waterfowl numbers reached their lowest numbers during this time. Though many would blame overshooting as the cause, most of the country's well known conservation minds agreed the decline in waterfowl numbers were due to habitat loss.

Not only were waterfowl numbers declining, but the support for the NWR System was also decreasing. It was during this time that our Nation was coping with the Great Depression and funds for conservation, especially money to buy land for refuges, were almost nonexistent. It took the effort of one of America's great conservationist, J. N. "Ding" Darling, to jump start the refuge system. Darling, along with others were able to secure funds for the purchase of submarginal lands for waterfowl. This helped revitalize the NWR System which lasted until the beginning of World War II.

From the end of World War II until the mid 1950s, very little was done regarding the acquisition and development of lands for refuges. However, important things were occurring. The year 1948 saw the passage of the Lea Act which authorized refuges to grow supplemental food crops for waterfowl and other birds to help reduce crop depredation on near by agricultural fields in California. The next year saw an increase in the duck stamp to $2 to help in refuge improvements. Even though funding for land purchasing was almost none existent at this time, there were still additions being made to the Refuge System. These additions were mainly through the acquisition of lands by other Federal agencies. In 1956, a monumental step was taken by the Refuge System with the passage of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. The act authorized the purchase of lands for the conservation and protection of all kinds of wildlife. Later, in 1966, The Endangered Species Preservation Act authorized the establishment of refuges for the protection of threatened and endangered species.

The last quarter century has seen the most change in the NWR System. Most notably was the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. With the passage of this one act alone, more than 53 million acres were added to the NWR System and created the two largest refuges in the system, the Arctic NWR with 19.5 million acres and the Yukon Delta NWR with 19.1 million acres.

Mississippi's National Wildlife Refuges
The NWR System in Mississippi has been blessed to have within its borders 13 NWRs comprising almost 220,000 acres. The first NWR in the state was the Yazoo NWR, which was established in 1936. The refuge is located 25 miles south of Greenville and encompasses approximately 13,000 acres. The area contains a diversity of habitats from bottomland hardwoods to cypress swamps to agricultural fields creating a haven for wintering waterfowl and other bird species and wildlife.

The next NWR to be established in the state was the Noxubee NWR located just south of Starkville. The refuge contains approximately 48,000 acres of bottomland and upland habitats and is home to many species of wildlife including white tailed deer, wild turkey and the endangered red cockaded woodpecker. The success of Noxubee's wildlife management program stems from its use of good forest management practices such as prescribed burning, timber thinnings and selective harvests. The refuge also has several green tree reservoirs that are managed for wintering waterfowl.

The success of Noxubee NWR's wildlife management program stems from its use of good forest management practices such as prescribed burning, timber thinnings and selective harvests.

The year 1975 saw the establishment of two other NWRs in the state - the Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR and Hillside NWR. The Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR is located north of Gautier and comprises approximately 19,000 acres. The area was established to protect the endangered Mississippi sandhill crane and its unique wet pine savanna habitat. The refuge has been instrumental in the recovery of the Mississippi sandhill crane who's numbers have increased from 30 35 cranes to 110 130 birds today.

Hillside NWR comprises approximately 15,000 acres and is located north of Yazoo City. Lands for the refuge were purchased by the Corps of Engineers for the Hillside Floodway, Yazoo Basin Headwater Project. The intent of the project is to allow silt laden waters to settle before reaching the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers which will help prevent costly dredging projects. The area contains numerous habitat types including bottomland hardwoods, cottonwood/willow areas, cypress/tupelo breaks, moist soil units and agricultural fields.

The late 1970s and early 80s saw the addition of four more NWRs to the state. Morgan Break NWR, located in west central Mississippi, was established in 1977 and encompasses approximately 7,400 acres. The area was established to protect bottomland hardwood habitat for migratory birds.

The following year saw the establishment of the Panther Swamp NWR. Panther Swamp is comprised of 38,500 acres of mature bottomland hardwoods which is subject to annual flooding and supports a wide array of wildlife and neotropical migrant bird species.

Matthews Brake NWR was established in 1980 and encompasses approximately 2,418 acres. The refuge is located approximately 5 miles west of Sidon. The main feature of the refuge is Matthews Brake, a 1,800 acre oxbow lake which is managed to promote moist soil plants and oak mast production for wintering waterfowl. The refuge is home to one of the southeast's largest public hunting and fishing programs.

The year following the creation of Matthews Brake, Bogue Chitto NWR was established. Bogue Chitto encompasses approximately 37,500 acres of land in both Louisiana and Mississippi. The refuge is located north of Slidell, Louisiana with most assessable by boat only.

The last few years have seen even more additions to the NWR System in Mississippi. Dahomey, Tallahatchie, St. Catherine Creek, Grand Bay and Coldwater River NWRs are all new additions to the state NWR System.

Dahomey NWR, located south of Cleveland, was established from an original tract of 9,269 acres that was purchased by The Nature Conservancy and sold to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for management. Later, the Service would take over complete control of the refuge. Today, Dahomey is one of the largest remaining tract of bottomland hardwoods in the northwest part of the state and is host to a wide array of species of wildlife including many neotropical bird species, white tailed deer, wild turkey and the occasional black bear.

The Tallahatchie NWR is found approximately nine miles west of Holcomb. The refuge encompasses 4,083 acres of relatively flat land with a patchwork of agricultural fields, replanted fields and bottomland hardwoods. The area has an active management program for wintering waterfowl which is made up of moist soil units that are flooded each year to mimic annual flooding cycles.

St. Catherine Creek NWR, located south of Natchez, contains approximately 26,000 acres of cypress swamps and hardwood forests as well as other habitat types. The refuge was established to preserve and improve habitat for wintering waterfowl. This is done mainly by construction of dikes and levees to impound water for the management of aquatic habitat. The refuge offers some excellent hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities.

Daniel C. Coggin is a Field Biologist with the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Foundation's Northeast Mississippi Field Office in Amory.