Wildlife Refuges
President Theodore Roosevelt designated 4-acre (1.6 ha) Pelican Island, off
Florida, in 1903 as the first national wildlife refuge, designed to protect breeding
birds. Roosevelt designated another 52 wildlife refuges before he left office in
- The early refuges were established primarily to protect wildlife such as the
overhunted bison and birds killed by market hunters, such as egrets and
waterfowl. During the drought years of the Great Depression, refuges were
created to protect waterfowl. The system developed piecemeal largely in
response to such wildlife crises. The National Wildlife Refuge System,
consisting today of 547 refuges encompassing more than 93 million acres (37
million ha), is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
RELEVANT LAWS
WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT (1968): Established a system of areas
distinct from the traditional park concept to ensure the protection of each
river’s unique environment. It also preserves certain selected rivers that
possess outstanding scenic, recreational, geological, cultural, or historic
values and maintains their free-flowing condition.FOOD SECURITY ACT (1985): Also known as “Swampbuster,” this act
contains provisions designed to discourage the conversion of wetlands into
nonwetland areas. This act also created a system for farmers to regain lost
federal benefits if they restored converted wetlands.ROADLESS RULE (2001): Established prohibitions on road construction,
road reconstruction, and timber harvesting on 58.5 million acres of
inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands. The intent was to
provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the National
Forest System in the context of multiple-use management.MINING
The following table provides an overview of mining.
Overview of MiningSteps Descriptions Environmental Effects and Issues