WILDLIFE REFUGES 



By John L. Farley 



Tin Fish and Wildlife Service has receivi d many inquiries about the ust of funds from 

 Migratory Bird Hunting Stumps, or "/>uck Statu />s," in the national migratory waterfowl 

 refuge program. This circular has been prepared to answer such inquiries. Tru circular is 

 taht n laiiji ly from a report by the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Servii e to t/u Subcommit- 

 tee on Public Lands of the House Committee on Inti rior ami Insular Affairs. July 30, !'■>',]. 

 with si, mi additions of later information. This is the story of the importance of /hick Stain ps 

 in the di Vt lopm, nf anil miiinti nance of national waterfowl refuges, and of the importance of 

 these refuges in the preset-ration of waterfowl hunting in this country. 



Like many other worthwhile movements in the 

 United States, the wildlife refuge program was 

 conceived by a small group of people. Toward 

 the end of the last century a few persons were 

 intensely interested in protecting for the future 

 the bird and animal life that was fast disappear- 

 ing from the face of the continent. 



One very active organization was the American 

 Ornithologists' Union, which had its inception in 

 lss.'S. Composed of a small hand of professional 

 ornithologists, the A. O. I', aroused official interest 

 that led to the establishment of the first national 

 bii'd reservation: on March 14, 1903, an Executive 

 order of President Theodore Roosevelt provided 

 protection for tiny Pelican Island in the Indian 

 River, on the Florida east coast. This little 3-acre 

 reef held rookeries of colonial birds that were 

 being slaughtered for their plumage, which was 

 sold to the millinery trade. Establishment of 

 this Federal refuge put a stop to the killing of 

 the birds and the robbing of their nests, with the 

 A. (). I", supplying warden service. 



This was the beginning of a series of Executive 

 orders. By 1906, three more refuges of the same 

 type in various parts of the country were set aside. 

 These areas 'also were patrolled through the use 

 of private funds, largely supplied by the National 



Audubon Society, an organization allied to the 

 Ornithologists' Union, and with similar ideals. 



In 1908, 36 more of these small islands primarily 

 for protection of colonial birds were set aside. 

 Several of these were in Alaska. 



Following this small beginning, interest grew 

 until in June 1924 Congress authorized the appro- 

 priation of $1,500,000 for the. purchase of bottom 

 lands along the upper Mississippi River, to estab- 

 lish what has become one of the very important 

 waterfowl and wildlife refuges in the country. 

 In 1928, an appropriation of $350,000 was made 

 to establish the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge 

 on the salt marshes at the mouth of Bear River, 

 on Great Salt Lake in Utah. 



Also during this period, the first refuges were 

 established on reclamation reservoirs or drainage 

 sumps. From 1908 to 19.">o, Executive orders 

 established such waterfowl units as Malheur and 

 Upper Klamath Lakes in Oregon, Tule and Ixjwer 

 Klamath in California, and Deer Flat and Mini- 

 doka in Idaho. 



A few big-game refuges were brought under 

 Federal protection during this period, either by 

 special acts of Congress or through donations by 

 conservation organizations. In this category was 

 the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyo. ; 



Cover: Design for the first Duck Stamp. Opposite: Waterfowl on a National Wildlife Refuge. 



