314 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1940 



tration of the continent's waterfowl population within a very 

 restricted territory during the winter months. This circumstance 

 makes it imperative that southern marshes be preserved or restored 

 on a vast scale for their use in winter. Basic to the selection of sites 

 for national waterfowl refuges are the two facts (1) that birds move 

 north and south in definite lines and (2) that breeding, wintering, 

 and feeding grounds must be preserved in the areas where the birds 

 need them. If we add the concept that the national refuge system 

 should eventually include a place for every major species of North 

 American wildlife under natural conditions, we have the basic biologic 

 principle on which this refuge program has been developed, par- 

 ticularly in the past 10 years. 



The Federal refuge program administered b}'' the Fish and Wild- 

 life Service was initiated when President Theodore Roosevelt set 

 aside Pelican Island on March 14, 1903. The refuge system grew 

 slowly from that time on, but funds for the proper administration 

 and maintenance of areas did not follow the growth of the system. 

 It was not until the passage of the Upper Mississippi River Wild- 

 life and Fish Refuge Act, on June 7, 1924, that the first of our large 

 waterfowl refuges was established. This was followed by the Bear 

 River Marsh Refuge Act of April 23, 1928. In both cases funds 

 were provided. Before this, however, Malheur Lake and Lower 

 Klamath Lake had been added from Government land and also a 

 few other areas. The National Bison Range had been established by 

 an act of Congress on May 23, 1938. This range provided the first 

 national home made particularly for the fast-vanishing buffalo. 



With the passage of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, on 

 February 18, 1929, which authorized appropriations of some 

 $10,000,000 to purchase and develop waterfowl refuges, the national 

 program really got under way. The authorizations provided in this 

 act were never reached, but some money was appropriated and a 

 number of refuges were purchased and developed under this pro- 

 gram. On July 1, 1933, approximately 6,000,000 acres of land were 

 embraced in the refuge system. Beginning on that date emergency 

 money of various kinds became available to extend and accelerate 

 the refuge program, so that at the end of June 1940 there were 

 13,635,365 acres in the Federal refuge system. Additional impetus 

 was given to the movement by the passage, on March 16, 1934, of the 

 Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, which has to date produced 

 more than $4,500,000 for the development of this program. This 

 "duck stamp" money is available for the purchase, development, and 

 maintenance of a Federal refuge system for the migratory waterfowl, 

 and the money must be so used. 



Embraced in the Federal system are several types of refuges. The 

 first that might be mentioned are those set aside usually to protect 



