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The
bald eagle, the Florida manatee, the whooping crane, the Arctic caribou
-- many of the most compelling subjects depend on national wildlife refuges
for their survival, but as the system approaches its 100th birthday, its
story remains largely untold and unappreciated by the American public.
The
National Wildlife Refuge System is America’s great gift to posterity --
over 540 refuges, more than 95 million acres... and counting. The story opens in
1903 with President Theodore Roosevelt, desperate to protect Florida’s
last brown pelican rookery from the demand for feathers for ladies’ hats,
inventing the concept of federal lands for wildlife in the nick of time
for many of the nation’s signature species. The story winds through the
major events of the 20th century... the dustbowl days, the New Deal, World
War, Silent Spring, the Space Race... before reaching the conservation
cliffhanger of modern times -- the race to secure some viable portion of
every ecosystem in the country in the face of relentless urban growth.
Whether
panning out to a magnificent landscape or zooming in to fill your frame
with an iridescent feather, the story of the National Wildlife Refuge System
abounds with both spectacular wildlife and compelling historical figures.
To invite your attention to this magnificent collection of species and
habitat on the eve of its 100th birthday, we have prepared a select list
of our refuge "Greatest Hits," a cross-section of photogenic wildlife spectacles
that lend themselves to dramatic feature writing and filmmaking. The list
is
drawn from less than 10 percent of the refuges nationwide -- just the tip
of the iceberg.
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