U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

National Wildlife Refuge System

www.fws.gov/refuges

October 2011 
Conserving 

the Future

Wildlife Refuges 

and the Next Generation

The National Wildlife Refuge System

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Department of the Interior

October 2011

All quotes featured in this vision document are from keynote 

addresses given at the Conserving the Future conference in 

Madison, Wisconsin from July 11-14, 2011.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Mission Statement

The mission of the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

is working with others 

to conserve, protect, 

and enhance fish, wildlife, 

plants, and their habitats 

for the continuing benefit 

of the American people.

2 Mission Statement Conserving the Future 3
Table of Contents

Preface................................................................................... 9

Executive Summary..............................................................14 

Introduction..........................................................................19

Chapter 1: Conserving the Future

Wildlife and Wildlands.......................................29

Doing the Right Things in the Right Places: 

Conservation Planning and Management............................ 30

Conservation Planning for the Next Century...................... 32

The Challenge of Climate Change......................................... 36

Strategic Growth of the Refuge System............................... 39

A Commitment to Science...................................................... 44

Application of Science............................................................. 45

Robust Inventory and Monitoring........................................ 46

State of the System................................................................. 48

Deliberate Research Agenda................................................. 49

Communication, Collaboration and 

Contribution in Science.......................................................... 50

4 Table of Contents Conserving the Future 5
Chapter 2: A Connected 

Conservation Constituency.............................. 53

Public Stewardship................................................................. 54

An Urban Refuge Initiative................................................... 56

Getting the Word Out............................................................. 58

The Outside Connection......................................................... 62

Chapter 3: Leading Conservation 

into the Future.................................................... 69

Organizational Efficiencies.................................................... 70

Succession Isn’t Just for Habitats......................................... 72

Leadership............................................................................... 73

A Renewed Commitment to Our Guiding Principles......... 75

Guiding Principles.................................................................. 76

Mission Statement.................................................................. 78

A Final Call to Action............................................................. 80

Acknowledgements ................................................................ 82

Vision Map............................................................................... 86

6 Table of Contents Conserving the Future 7
Preface

In the summer of 2010, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

employees began the process of charting the course for 

the National Wildlife Refuge System’s next decade. Their 

charge was to build on the foundation 

of the System’s last strategic plan, 

Fulfilling the Promise, and create 

an updated vision for the future of 

America’s national wildlife refuges.

Clearly, much has changed since 

1999, when Fulfilling the Promise

was published. America is a different 

place—our population is larger and 

more diverse; we have been battered 

economically; and we are at war on 

multiple fronts. And the landscape for 

conservation has changed—there is 

less undeveloped land, more invasive 

species and we are experiencing the 

impacts of a changing climate. 

In the face of these challenges, the Service gains 

conservation strength through building partnerships. 

We have always worked with a wide variety of partners, 

including federal, state and local agencies; tribes; 

nongovernmental organizations; friends groups; and 

volunteers. We strive to be a vital component of local 

communities as we conserve wildlife and habitats. The 

Service is in a unique position to partner with other land 

managers at the national, state and county levels, as we 

work on far-reaching plans for the conservation of wildlife. 

The Service has expanded on this important model by 

including these groups and individuals in new Landscape 

Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) across the country. 

In these difficult times, it is imperative to work together. 

Since its inception a century ago, the National Wildlife 

8 Preface Conserving the Future9
Refuge System has worked closely with the conservation 

community to conserve and restore species and habitats. 

We will continue to work with a growing roster of partners 

in the future.

We have worked especially closely with state fish and 

wildlife agencies in planning and administering the Refuge 

System, relying both on the authority and the expertise 

these agencies have in managing fish and wildlife. The 

National Wildlife Refuge System is both a product and 

a component of the North American Model for Wildlife 

Conservation and embodies the two core concepts of 

wildlife held in the public trust and managing sustainable 

populations. 

Working together to create a renewed vision for the 

Refuge System makes sense, too. More than 100 people 

from across the Service created a draft vision document 

and—with the help of our partner in this process, the 

National Wildlife Refuge Association—

posted it on the web, and asked for 

your comments, suggestions and ‘bold 

ideas.’ We asked Service employees, 

other state and federal agencies, tribes, 

conservation agencies and private 

citizens concerned about conservation 

for help. And you responded. We 

received more than 10,000 comments. 

Many of the comments and ideas we 

received were specific to the Refuge 

System and, where appropriate, we 

incorporated them into Conserving the 

Future. Many of the other comments 

and bold ideas transcend the Refuge 

System and even the Service; however, 

they are important issues for the entire 

conservation community to discuss. 

The forum in which to promote these 

ideas is America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) initiative, a 21st 

century conservation and recreation agenda.

The AGO initiative is a grassroots approach to protecting 

our lands and waters and connecting all Americans to 

their natural and cultural heritage. Developed in part 

via listening sessions throughout the nation, the AGO 

initiative seeks to empower all Americans to share in the 

responsibility to conserve, restore and provide better access to our lands and waters to leave a healthy, vibrant 

outdoor legacy for generations to come. 

These listening sessions generated 

many bold ideas.

We are crafting Conserving the 

Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next 

Generation just as the ambitious plans for 

implementing AGO are beginning. This 

presents us with an incredible opportunity 

to realize our vision of working beyond 

our borders, reinvigorating established 

partnerships, increasing wildlife dependent uses, and 

diversifying and expanding our constituency. The time is right 

to build on the conservation legacy of the North American 

model, using the momentum of the Refuge System’s vision 

process and the grassroots approach of AGO.

Our response to your comments and bold ideas that 

transcend our traditional responsibilities – or the 

responsibilities of any single entity – is straightforward. 

Yes, we will step forward. We volunteer to lead where 

appropriate, follow when we should, and catalyze and 

energize this effort to conserve and restore America’s great 

outdoors. But we will only succeed if the entire conservation 

community and all Americans who love the great outdoors 

step forward, too. America’s Great Outdoors initiative 

strongly reinforces the need to increase participation in 

outdoor recreation and to attract new participants. There 

is an unbreakable bond between traditional users, such 

as anglers and hunters, and the Refuge System because 

these users depend on healthy fish and wildlife populations 

and habitats, and their activities are directly related to 

the System’s mission. We are committed to working with 

state fish and wildlife agencies, hunters and anglers to 

increase wildlife-dependent recreational uses on public 

10 Preface Conserving the Future 11
12 Preface Conserving the Future 13

lands (Recommendation 17). We hope all will join together 

in conserving America’s great outdoors.

Vision:: The Service will enhance its close relationship with 

the state fish and wildlife agencies. We will coordinate 

with them on management of fish and wildlife within the 

Refuge System and on establishing population objectives. 

We will strive to increase hunting and fishing opportunities 

to a diverse constituency. We will also be a catalyst to find 

common ground with other refuge supporters with the goal 

of expanding the conservation constituency for the benefit 

of healthy wildlife and habitats for future generations.

What follows in this document represents the Service’s 

vision for how the Refuge System can contribute in 

this larger context. It is written primarily for Service 

employees and our close friends 

and partners, to both inspire them 

to greater achievements and to 

guide them on their way. But it 

is also intended for a broader 

audience, as demonstrated in 

the repeated acknowledgement 

of the landscape context and 

partnerships throughout every 

section of this work. In every page 

of this document, you will see 

yourself. Whether you are from 

another federal agency, a tribe, a 

state, a conservation organization or a concerned citizen, 

we need you to help us conserve America’s wild things and 

wild places. 
For the past 18 months, the National Wildlife Refuge 

System has worked to create a vision that will guide 

the management of the Refuge System during the next 

decade and beyond. Conserving the Future is built on the 

foundation and inspiration of Fulfilling the Promise. 

This new vision seeks to not only further the System’s 

mission, but also to raise the Service’s profile in the 

broader national conservation effort. Consistent with 

our guiding legislation, Conserving the Future embraces 

bold, new ideas to realize the full conservation potential 

of the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

The conservation landscape has changed, the playing 

field has changed and the stakes have changed. 

Human demands on the environment combined with 

environmental stressors are creating an urgent need 

for conservation choices. The scale of issues and 

challenges we face is unprecedented and impacts us all; 

no single entity has the resources necessary to address 

these challenges on its own. Conserving the Future

acknowledges that strategic, collaborative, science-based 

landscape conservation – along with effective public 

outreach, education and environmental awareness – is 

Executive Summary

the only path forward to conserve America’s wildlife 

and wild places. This document articulates the Refuge 

System’s role in this effort: leading when appropriate 

and supporting our partners when able. 

We recognize all of our conservation partners, 

and explicitly acknowledge the unique and valued 

relationship, expertise, and authority of state wildlife 

agencies in managing fish, wildlife, and their habitats 

associated with the Refuge System. We also recognize 

that we must identify opportunities to engage new 

constituencies to help us meet our mission.

Conserving the Future was developed by Service 

employees in partnership with stakeholders through 

a transparent public process. Although focused on 

the Refuge System, this process catalyzed a national 

discussion on conservation that transcends the Refuge 

System. Several recurring themes emerged: relevance to 

a changing America, the impact of a changing climate, 

the need for conservation at the landscape scale, the 

necessity of partnership and collaboration, and the 

absolute importance of scientific excellence. These 

themes are woven throughout the document. 

14 Executive Summary Conserving the Future 15

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Future: Wildlife and Wildlands

contains the foundational elements 

of our conservation design and 

delivery. Our vision is to embrace a 

scientific, landscape-level approach to 

conserving, managing and restoring 

refuge lands and waters, and work to 

facilitate conservation benefits beyond 

our boundaries. Simply put, we are 

a piece of the puzzle and we hold to 

the highest principles of scientific 

excellence to inform our conservation 

decisions and actions. We offer a series 

of recommendations: embrace a landscape approach, look 

through the lens of climate change, strategically grow the 

Refuge System, work in partnership to leverage resources 

and benefits, and report on the condition of wildlife and 

habitat to the American people and embrace high standards 

of scientific integrity and transparency. 

A Connected Conservation 

Constituency is the people piece. 

Without the support of the American 

public, our actions—however well 

intended—will fall short. We seek to 

make wildlife conservation more relevant 

to American citizens and foster their 

engagement in and support of the National 

Wildlife Refuge System. As with our 

land protection efforts and management 

actions, we will be most effective in this 

area by both working with our traditional partners and by 

embracing new ones. Our recommendations include expanding 

community partnerships; encouraging volunteerism; 

embracing urban America; telling the conservation story in 

new ways with the help of technology; enhancing opportunities 

to connect people and nature; and embracing, elevating and 

holding our interpretation and environmental education 

programs to the highest scientific standards. 

16 Executive Summary Conserving the Future 17

Leading Conservation 

into the Future is devoted to 

leadership and organizational 

excellence, and includes an explicit 

challenge to the entire Service to be 

self-critical and continually strive 

to maximize conservation delivery 

and demonstrate excellence in the 

stewardship of public funds. We also 

recommend deliberately developing 

a diverse, inclusive, competent and 

caring workforce that will commit to conservation, embrace 

the responsibility of public service, and succeed in realizing 

this in effective, efficient and innovative ways. We must 

develop a workforce that embodies our Guiding Principles 

and demonstrates those principles in our daily activities 

and interactions. 

The challenges are immense 

and our quality of life 

is at stake. 

The path is set before us: 

It is time to act.
Introduction

The slaughter of the birds of Pelican Island was more 

than Paul Kroegel could stand. The destruction of those 

magnificent birds for the fleeting vanity of fashion stood 

in stark contrast to the ancient ritual of generation after 

generation of wild birds nesting and fledging and living 

throughout those reaches of the 

Florida peninsula. 

The situation was urgent; the 

colonies were on the brink of 

destruction. Kroegel patrolled 

Pelican Island’s shores with his 

shotgun trying to safeguard 

the nesting birds. He talked 

to anyone who would listen, 

trying to rally support for the 

protection of the birds and this 

special place. He had the ear of 

some prominent ornithologists 

and they knew another man with a passionate interest in 

birds, the young President Theodore Roosevelt.

In a story that would be repeated many times over the 

next century and beyond, the passionate advocacy of 

a single citizen responding to an urgent conservation 

need succeeded. On March 14, 1903, President Roosevelt 

established Pelican Island as the first national wildlife 

refuge. Over the course of his presidency, Roosevelt 

established 53 refuges, from Key West’s mangrove islands 

and sand flats to Flattery Rocks along the Washington 

Coast. He also established our nation’s first waterfowl 

refuge, Lower Klamath, in 1908. A new concept, protecting 

a system of wild lands for wildlife, was born.

More than a century later, the National Wildlife Refuge 

System has grown to become the world’s most extensive 

network of public lands and waters dedicated to the 

18 Introduction Conserving the Future 19
conservation of wildlife. From the Arctic to the Caribbean, 

the Atlantic to the Pacific, America’s 555 national wildlife 

refuges and 38 Wetland Management Districts are present 

in every state and territory; and they 

provide important habitat to more 

than 700 species of birds, 220 types of 

mammals, 250 varieties of reptiles and 

amphibians, more than 1,000 species of 

fish and uncounted invertebrates and 

plants. They sustain nearly 300 of the 

nation’s more than 1,300 endangered 

or threatened species; and have played 

a key role in the recovery of several 

species, including the bald eagle, 

Aleutian Canada goose, brown pelican 

and American alligator. We celebrate 

these successes and honor those who 

built the foundation of American 

conservation.

From the very beginning, America’s fish 

and wildlife depended on the support 

and concern of hunters and anglers. By 

the start of the 20th century, national 

expansion and development had taken 

a severe toll on America’s wildlife. 

Hunters and anglers first sounded the 

alarm that fish and wildlife were being 

exploited, and they hounded lawmakers 

to enact legal protections. Gaining 

strength in numbers, they formed 

conservation organizations and helped 

pass legislation that resulted in a lasting 

future for fish and wildlife. Central to 

this success was the development of 

the North American Model for Wildlife 

Conservation, which emphasizes 

protecting sustainable populations of 

fish and wildlife, and holding these 

species in a public trust. 

The legislation advocated by hunters and anglers is the 

foundation for wildlife conservation; it establishes sound 

management principles and provides funds to carry out 

management. Over the last 75 years, the hunting and 

angling conservation community supported passage of 

specific legislation that formed the foundation for fish and 

wildlife conservation efforts today. The American system 

of conservation funding 

is collectively supported 

by the Federal Aid in 

Wildlife Restoration Act, 

and the Federal Aid in 

Sport Fish Restoration 

Act. These programs have 

provided more than $10 

billion for on-the-ground 

conservation activities 

benefitting species that 

use refuge lands. Also, 

nearly 98 percent of 

every Migratory Bird 

Hunting and Conservation 

Stamp (also known as 

the Federal Duck Stamp) 

dollar is spent directly on 

purchasing land for the 

Refuge System. Nearly $25 

million is raised annually 

and more than $750 million 

has been generated during 

the past seven decades, largely from waterfowl hunters. 

Recreational boaters have joined hunters and anglers 

in contributing to the American system of conservation 

funding. These funds have contributed to facility 

development, such as boat ramps, allowing access for 

the continuing benefit of the American people. Let these 

conservationists who gave voice to the needs of wildlife, 

and crafted a means to serve those needs, act as a model 

for all current and emerging refuge partners.

The role of hunters and anglers in conserving wildlife 

and habitat is timeless. And so too is the importance of 

conservation organizations that tirelessly advocate for 

20 Introduction Conserving the Future 21

The National 

Wildlife 

Refuge System 

Improvement 

Act of 1997 is our 

guiding legislation 

and embodies 

our commitment 

to compatible 

wildlife-dependent 

recreational uses 

of the system: 

hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation, 

photography, 

interpretation and 

education. The act 

also reaffirms our 

commitment to 

working with our 

refuge neighbors, 

conservation 

groups and state 

counterparts.

“To be successful, we will need the 

continued support of our state fish 

and wildlife agency colleagues. Our 

conservation partners’ support will 

be critical, as it always has been. 

And we need our Friends groups, 

now more than ever.” 

— Dan Ashe, USFWS 
non-game species, international conservation, wilderness 

areas and land protection. We recognize the fundamental 

role of conservation groups in helping to enact legislation 

that has led to healthier functioning ecosystems and 

increased biodiversity across North America. The Service 

is both a wildlife management and conservation agency, 

and refuges have been established for both purposes; 

migratory waterfowl production and endangered species 

protection. We will continue to work with hunters, anglers, 

state agencies, and conservation organizations that 

support consumptive and non-consumptive uses alike to 

conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and 

their habitats for the 

continuing benefit of 

the American people. 

Growing up together 

during the 20th 

century, conservation 

organizations and state 

and federal wildlife 

agencies continued 

to work and learn 

together, building off 

each other’s strengths, 

and providing all 

Americans with lasting 

access to the beauty 

and enjoyment of our 

fish and wildlife legacy. 

Today, this partnership 

between state and 

federal agencies is 

nowhere stronger than in the field, and on refuges. No 

matter the logo on their shoulders, state and federal 

wildlife managers roll up their sleeves together. They 

assist each other with prescribed burning and fighting 

wild fires. They patrol and enforce conservation laws 

together. They maintain roads, water control structures 

and enhance habitat. They belong to the same scientific and 

professional organizations and collaborate on studies and 

research. Increasingly, they are joined in many of these 

efforts by conservation and environmental organizations. 

All work together to restore wetlands, grasslands and 

forests. Together they teach the next generation the skills 

and traditions of the great outdoors including hunting and 

fishing, hiking, canoeing and camping. And together they 

will share with a new generation their pride in the care of 

a well taken shot with 

gun, bow or camera, and 

the joy that comes from 

experiencing the ways of 

the wild. 

While the Refuge 

System’s benefits to 

wildlife are measured 

in many ways, refuges 

play crucial roles in 

human communities, 

too. By protecting 

wetlands, grasslands, 

forests, wilderness and 

other natural habitats, 

refuges improve air 

and water quality, relieve flooding, improve soil quality and 

trap greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. 

In addition, by attracting visitors who come to hunt, 

fish, take photos or observe wildlife—visitors who spend 

money at nearby businesses—national wildlife refuges 

generated more than $1.7 billion in economic activity and 

created 27,000 private sector jobs in local communities 

alone, according to a 2006 study. Most important, in an 

increasingly urban and high-speed world, these islands of 

natural beauty offer Americans priceless places to soothe 

or stir the soul, educate the mind, and invigorate the body.

In its second century, the Refuge System must tackle 

unprecedented challenges. At the root of these challenges 

is the increasing consumption of natural resources, which 

has caused loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitat 

around the world. Habitat loss is largely responsible for 

the current extinction event, in which Earth may lose half 

of its species in the next 100 years. Another challenge is the 

22 Introduction Conserving the Future 23

“Every one of us makes a difference 

every day. Everyone has a role 

to play.” 

— Dr. Jane Goodall

“Have the courage to think 

radically...what would you do if you 

weren’t afraid?” 

— Dr. Rick Coleman, USFWS
spread of invasive, non-native plants and animals, which, in 

many places, out-compete native organisms in ecosystems 

once thought outside their range. Climate change is 

also a significant challenge to conservation efforts. As 

the globe warms, sea levels are rising, coastal wetlands 

are disappearing, flooding and droughts are increasing, 

habitats and seasons are shifting and other changes are 

occurring that are changing the definition of what is 

considered ‘normal.’ The growing evidence of the decline of 

the world’s marine communities is a striking reminder that 

our impact is felt in even the most remote places on Earth.

Along with these environmental challenges, profound 

changes are taking place in the fabric of America. The 

population of the United States has increased more than 14 

percent since 1998, and citizens are becoming increasingly 

concentrated in cities. By 2050, the U.S. population is 

projected to grow to almost 400 million. The country is also 

becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Groups that 

have historically been considered minorities are projected 

to be the majority by 

2042. The nation is 

also aging. By midcentury, the number of 

Americans 65 and older 

will double to more 

than 80 million people. 

Social changes have 

also been profound. 

The rapid spread of 

technology and the 

rise of the internet 

and social networking 

have changed the way 

Americans interact 

with each other and 

the outside world, and 

how they spend their 

free time. The result is that people are less connected with 

America’s great outdoors, and many fail to see the link 

between the natural world and the food they eat, the water 

they drink and the air they breathe. While environmental 

24 Introduction Conserving the Future 25

threats still resonate on some level, many citizens feel that 

conservation threats are a distant concern. 

The Service needs to respond to these challenges and 

trends, both by developing better ways to sustain wildlife 

and by seeking to understand our citizens and how 

conservation is vital to their lives. Fortunately, we have 

a long history of successfully overcoming challenges 

and changes. From 

responding to market 

hunters and the plume 

trade, pollution, 

natural disasters and 

climate change, Service 

employees have learned 

to adapt and grow, and 

continue to meet their 

mission of protecting 

wildlife and habitat. 

Despite the challenges, 

there are many 

opportunities. The 

number and variety of 

people, organizations and 

agencies that took time 

to comment on this vision 

document provide evidence that the public cares about the 

environment, wildlife and the future of the Refuge System. 

People still have an instinctual connection to nature, 

and are drawn to it when provided with the opportunity. 

Improvements in science and technology have not only 

given us a clearer understanding of the challenges before 

us, they have allowed us to better see where we can make a 

difference. And our conservation partners have never been 

better equipped or motivated to work with us to take on 

these challenges. 

Given the magnitude of the challenges before us, especially 

the current need to balance many competing priorities, we 

need help from both our traditional and emerging partners 

who want to ensure that future generations receive a 

“We must tell our stories with the 

heart of a poet and the facts of a 

scientist as we engage Americans in 

the stewardship of our land.” 

— Greg Siekaniec, USFWS

“It’s ambitious, it’s inspirational, 

and more important, it’s doable.” 

— Dr. Deborah Rocque, USFWS
26 Introduction Conserving the Future 27

legacy of healthy habitats, clean air and water, open spaces 

and robust wildlife populations. The establishment of 

Pelican Island was the result of conservation groups such 

as the Audubon Society, Camp Fire Club, and New York 

Zoological Society rallying around a common purpose 

with the hunting groups like Boone and Crockett and the 

League of American Sportsmen. Let these visionaries 

serve as our model to unite conservation organizations 

and agencies with diverse missions around the common 

purpose of conserving fish, wildlife and their habitats and 

expanding the conservation awareness in all Americans. 

This document and its recommendations are intended to 

inspire and empower current and future Service employees 

to lead the Refuge System during the coming decades. It 

is also a call to action for other governmental agencies, 

conservation organizations, corporations and citizens. 

The Refuge System is a crucial part of our shared natural 

heritage, but we cannot succeed alone. To ensure that our 

natural heritage is passed down intact, we must all join 

together and commit to a bold, robust 21st century version 

of American stewardship. 
Chapter 1:

Conserving the Future

Wildlife and Wildlands

The National Wildlife Refuge System has more than a 

century of success in conserving some of our nation’s most 

cherished natural treasures: wildlife and wild places. But 

a host of challenges threatens 

to undermine that proud legacy. 

These challenges cross political 

and organizational boundaries, 

and thus no single government 

agency or organization can tackle 

them alone.

To ensure that future generations 

enjoy wildlife in its natural 

habitats—and benefit from the 

clear air and clean water that 

these habitats help provide—

Americans from all walks of life, both inside and outside 

government, must work together. In the preface to this 

document we committed to being a catalyst for action in 

conserving and restoring America’s great outdoors and 

connecting people with their natural and cultural heritage. 

This will be a collaborative enterprise far broader than 

the responsibility of Service employees for stewardship 

of the Refuge System. It is absolutely essential that the 

entire conservation community comes together and tackles 

the complex and large-scale threats we face. The Refuge 

System will be fully engaged in the effort to conserve 

America’s great outdoors, leading when we can, and 

following when we should.

We also recognize that conservation cannot wait; we must 

take action and articulate the contribution of the Refuge 

System to the conservation of America’s great outdoors. 

Our actions must be informed by strong principles and 

28 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 29
a clear vision. To help preserve the ecosystems that 

preserve us, we must undertake immediate but thoughtful, 

scientifically-based and proactive conservation planning, 

design and delivery in the management of America’s 

national wildlife refuges. 

Vision: We are caring stewards of the world’s premier 

system of lands and waters dedicated to the conservation 

of fish, wildlife, plants and the healthy, resilient habitats 

that sustain them. We are catalysts and leaders for 

conservation, known and trusted for scientific excellence, 

professionalism and commitment to partnerships and 

public service.

Doing the Right Things in the Right Places:

Conservation Planning and Management

The expansive new challenges we face from environmental 

stressors such as climate change and increasing 

fragmentation of wildlife habitats demand that we take an 

adaptive, broad, landscapelevel approach to our 

conservation actions. Such 

an approach requires that we 

tap into the knowledge base 

of our neighbors and partners 

to help identify conservation 

priorities. We will address 

these issues using State 

Wildlife Action Plans, other 

federal agency plans and 

conservation organizations’ 

strategic plans.

The Service works closely 

with state fish and wildlife 

agencies, recognizing 

our shared authority and 

responsibility for managing 

fish and wildlife on national wildlife refuges. This federalstate partnership, grounded in mutual respect and shared 

Landscape 

Conservation 

Cooperatives (LCCs) 

are public-private 

partnerships that 

transcend political 

and jurisdictional 

boundaries and 

take a collaborative, 

scientific approach 

to managing 

wildlife, habitats 

and cultural 

resources.

http://www.fws.gov/

science/shc/lcc.html

priorities, is essential to effective conservation work. 

We must build on this important relationship, widen our 

perspective beyond the boundaries of 

refuge, state and nation, consider the 

impacts our actions have on species 

that regularly cross borders (such as 

migratory birds), and determine how we 

can help meet international conservation 

goals. The larger consortium of partners 

gathered by LCCs will also contribute 

to our planning efforts. Through the 

LCCs, we are adding scientific capacity 

to do better biological planning and 

conservation design that will inform our 

land protection strategies and improve 

conservation delivery.

For such an adaptive, landscape-level 

approach to succeed, it must be based 

on quantifiable conservation objectives, 

including population objectives for 

target species. This will allow us to 

clearly identify the purpose and judge 

the relative priority of a project, 

determine how it fits in with the efforts 

of others, measure the success of our 

efforts, and adapt and improve our work over time.

Vision: We embrace a scientific, adaptive, landscape-level 

approach to conserving, managing and restoring refuge 

lands and waters, and work to project conservation benefits 

beyond our boundaries. 

In the past, we focused largely on what happened within 

our refuge boundaries, in isolation from the landscapes 

around them. Today, we realize we must view and manage 

refuge lands as pieces of fabric woven into a landscape-level 

tapestry of conservation. We must engage our neighbors, 

conservation partners and surrounding communities in 

creative conservation strategies to achieve our collective 

“In conservation science, as in so 

much of our vision, we will not 

succeed alone. We intend to be both 

strong leaders and strong partners.”

— Greg Siekaniec, USFWS 

30 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 31
species – and ecosystems – management goals. In addition, 

our conservation strategies should advance hemispheric 

partnerships to conserve migratory birds, wide-ranging 

animals and marine mammals.

We must collaborate effectively with a wide 

array of partners to leverage resources, 

avoid duplication of effort, and collectively 

develop and implement mutually beneficial 

solutions. This collaborative landscape-level 

approach applies equally to our long-term 

planning efforts and to our day-to-day 

management decisions. While we are already 

working “beyond the boundaries” in many places, 

including internationally, we must do better. Taking 

this broader approach will allow us to identify potential 

threats and conflicts and develop innovative solutions to 

those challenges. It will also allow us to share best practices 

and capitalize on opportunities. This mindset will also 

encourage our employees on the ground to work with local 

landowners, nearby communities and other conservation 

partners and strengthen community ties.

Conservation Planning for the Next Century

Our ability to conserve fish, wildlife and 

their habitats for future generations of 

Americans begins with our commitment 

to long- and short-range conservation 

planning and full implementation 

of management actions. Our 

management planning documents 

guide on-the-ground stewardship of 

threatened and endangered species, 

migratory birds, interjurisdictional 

fish and other species of special 

concern entrusted to us by the 

American people. We develop our 

plans using an interdisciplinary 

approach, to ensure management 

activities address the diversity of biological and 

socioeconomic issues we face. 

During the past decade, more than 50 

million acres of new marine national 

monuments in the Pacific have been added 

to the Refuge System. The Service now 

has stewardship responsibilities for some 

of the most important coastal, marine 

ecosystems in the world. We must 

build capacity to do the science and 

management required to be good stewards 

of these marine national monuments, much 

like we have in places such as the Alaska 

Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Threats 

of coral bleaching and ocean acidification 

require us to study these sensitive areas 

carefully. We must work closely with 

our partners at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration and other scientific institutions who share 

our interest in exploring and caring for these places. The 

responsible stewardship of the coastal, marine units of the 

Refuge System is one of the great challenges of the decade 

ahead.

The key strategic tool we use to guide our work on each 

refuge is the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP). 

Congress mandated the completion of such plans in the 

National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 

1997. We’ve learned a great deal from the first round of 

preparing these plans. Some CCPs successfully created 

visions for dealing with complex issues such as sea-level 

rise caused by climate change, while others were caught 

in controversy and barely maintained the status quo. 

We now have a great opportunity to improve upon our 

planning legacy by incorporating a new vision and set of 

conservation strategies in the next generation of CCPs. 

This new vision requires that we keep several principles 

in mind. First, the new plans must integrate the 

conservation needs of the larger landscape (including 

the communities they support) and ensure that we 

function as a “System.” Second, they must be flexible 

32 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 33
enough to address new environmental challenges and 

contribute to the ecological resiliency of fish and wildlife 

populations and their habitats. Third, the plans must be 

written so those who read them will clearly understand 

what is expected and be inspired to take action to become a 

part of our conservation legacy. Fourth, they should explore 

ways to increase recreational opportunities, working 

closely with regional recreation, trails and transportation 

planners to leverage resources that make refuges more 

accessible to the public. 

Secondary to the CCP, but still a key component for 

strategic management and planning on refuge lands, is 

the habitat management 

plan (HMP). The HMP 

“steps down” the direction 

in a CCP to provide specific 

guidance for managing the 

lands and waters under our 

stewardship. An HMP uses 

the best available scientific 

information and ecological 

principles; develops habitat 

goals, objectives and 

management strategies 

to conserve wildlife 

populations; addresses 

ways to better protect areas 

with special designation 

status (such as wilderness, 

marine protected areas 

and public-use natural 

areas); considers a range 

of management strategies; 

uses adaptive management; 

and relies on peer review to 

provide credible assessments of our actions. 

Each year about 3.5 million acres of refuge lands and 

waters are actively managed under these plans—but there 

are another 5.7 million acres in need of ongoing habitat 

management, and an additional 3.5 million acres in need 

of restoration. We must develop new habitat management 

plans that implement our policies on biological diversity, 

integrity and environmental health, 

along with our climate change strategic 

plan. We need to scrutinize our farming 

programs, looking to restore natural 

habitats where possible and reduce 

carbon emissions. We need to continue 

to advocate for fire policy that does not 

focus exclusively on hazardous fuels 

reduction in the wildlife-urban interface, 

but also includes other important aspects 

of healthy landscapes and watersheds. 

By following the adaptive management 

process, we will identify each refuge’s 

contribution to the larger conservation 

effort undertaken by a multitude of 

conservation stakeholders. We will 

describe the vision for the refuge’s 

future, determine appropriate 

management direction to achieve desired 

scientifically based goals and objectives, 

and analyze the impacts of proposed 

actions on the wildlife we manage. We 

will seek and respond to public input 

throughout our process. We will monitor 

the success of our management actions 

to ensure we are achieving our goals and 

objectives, and revise our management 

direction, as needed, to adapt to 

changing environmental conditions, new 

biological and social information, and 

new objectives.

Recommendation 1: Incorporate the lessons learned 

from our first round of CCPs and HMPs into the next 

generation of conservation plans, and ensure these new 

plans view refuges in a landscape context and describe 

actions to project conservation benefits beyond refuge 

boundaries.

Adaptive 

management: 

A deliberate, 

science-based 

process for decisionmaking in the face 

of uncertainty. 

This approach 

treats management 

actions as 

experiments, and 

uses the outcomes of 

those experiments 

to inform and 

improve future 

actions. Because 

it is based on a 

continual learning 

process, adaptive 

management 

improves longterm management 

outcomes.

“America is changing. We must 

connect with communities around 

the wildlife refuges that we have 

been entrusted with. The habitats 

we manage are intertwined and 

connected to the greater landscape. 

Thus, we have to connect.” 

— Cynthia Martinez, USFWS 

34 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 35
The Challenge of Climate Change

The Earth’s climate is changing at an accelerating rate that 

has the potential to cause abrupt changes in ecosystems 

and increase the risk of species extinction. Climate change 

transcends the Service and the National Wildlife Refuge 

System and poses one of the largest conservation threats of 

the 21st century. 

Climate change has very likely increased the size and 

number of wildfires, insect outbreaks, pathogens, disease 

outbreaks and tree mortality in the interior West, the 

Southwest and Alaska. In the aquatic environment, 

evidence is growing that higher water temperatures 

resulting from climate change are 

negatively impacting cold- and coolwater- adapted populations across the 

country. Rising sea levels have begun 

to affect fish and wildlife habitats, 

including those used by shorebirds and 

sea turtles that nest on coastal national 

wildlife refuges. Ocean acidification and 

coral bleaching represent major threats 

to marine life in more than 50 million 

acres of refuge waters and beyond.

We acknowledge climate change is a 

crosscutting theme as we continue to 

work with the conservation community 

to develop and implement conservation 

strategies. We also recognize that a 

changing climate interacts with other 

ongoing environmental threats and 

stressors such as destructive fires, 

water shortages, invasive species and 

disease transmission. The Service is 

committed to taking a holistic approach 

to assessment and management that 

accounts for interactions between 

climate change and other stressors. 

Our mandate to conserve and manage Refuge System 

lands and waters to maintain biological integrity, diversity 

and ecosystem health requires us to support ecological 

resilience and provide fish, wildlife and plants with 

opportunities to adapt to climate-changed landscapes. 

Wilderness will be a key part of our understanding 

of climate-mitigated changes. Large, unfragmented 

wilderness areas will support ecosystem resiliency and 

species adaptation, and be a source of valuable baseline 

data as the climate 

changes. But it is not 

enough to respond to this 

most urgent conservation 

challenge. The Service is 

working in partnership 

with state fish and wildlife 

agencies and other federal 

partners on a national fish, 

wildlife and plant climateadaptation strategy. The 

National Wildlife Refuge 

System must contribute 

significantly to this 

emerging strategy through 

its land protection, land 

management, inventory, 

monitoring and research 

efforts.

Strategies that will enhance ecological resilience and 

provide opportunities for fish, wildlife and plants to adapt 

to climate change include maintaining or restoring the 

ecological integrity of existing refuges and other protected 

areas, enhancing linkages and connectivity among 

protected areas, buffering core protected areas, such as 

wilderness, with conservation efforts on private working 

landscapes, identifying and protecting climate refugia, and 

ensuring adequate representation, size and redundancy of 

ecological communities in the collective conservation estate. 

The Refuge System must contribute to all of these efforts. 

The Service developed a strategic plan for responding to 

climate change in 2010. This far- reaching and visionary 

“More change has taken place on 

the land, in the air, the wildlife - 

the fabric of life, and certainly in 

the ocean in the 20th century than 

during all preceding human history 

put together.” 

— Dr. Sylvia Earle, oceanographer 

Ecological 

resilience: 

The capacity of a 

system to resist 

and recover from 

natural or humancaused disturbances. 

Resilient systems 

can maintain their 

essential structure 

in the face of floods, 

fires, pest outbreaks, 

pollution and other 

stressors.

36 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 37
plan emphasizes reactive approaches in the short term. 

Although planning and management at the refuge 

and landscape scale will continue to be important, we 

must recognize that, over time, a changing climate may 

transform these areas into new habitats, new ecosystems 

and new landscapes. If the Refuge System is to continue 

to fulfill its mission, we must undertake a comprehensive 

assessment of the challenges that climate change poses. 

Such an assessment will allow us to better understand 

the vulnerability of ecosystems and plant and animal 

populations to environmental change. As this occurs, 

the Service should shift to a more proactive approach to 

conserving and managing refuge lands and waters. 

Targeted restoration will also be necessary in many 

wildlife refuges to bring altered landscapes back into 

balance. Restoration efforts should create landscape-level 

habitats or habitat complexes capable of supporting viable 

populations of target species; be 

resilient to short-term climate 

fluctuations and long-term climate 

change; restore as many ecosystem 

processes as possible on the 

landscape; integrate partnerships 

with other agencies, groups and 

private landowners; and integrate 

with future acquisition efforts. 

The Refuge System also needs 

to quantify and reduce its overall 

carbon footprint. Refuge system 

operations and facilities generate 

heat-trapping gases and have 

other impacts on the environment 

and wildlife. The Service’s 

stewardship of the Refuge System 

should provide cutting-edge leadership in reducing carbon 

emissions and implementing sustainable, green business 

practices. Our plans should include prioritizing land 

restoration activities that effectively sequester carbon.

Recommendation 2: Develop a climate change 

implementation plan for the National Wildlife Refuge 

System that dovetails with other conservation partners’ 

climate change action plans 

and specifically provides 

guidance for conducting 

vulnerability assessments 

of climate change impacts to 

refuge habitats and species as 

well as direction for innovation 

in the reduction of emissions 

and improved energy efficiency 

on federal lands. 

Strategic Growth 

of the Refuge System 

The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act 

provides clear direction to the Service to “plan and direct 

the continued growth of the System in a manner that is 

best designed to accomplish the mission of the System, 

to contribute to the conservation of the ecosystems of 

the United States, to complement efforts of States and 

other Federal agencies to conserve fish and wildlife and 

their habitats, and to increase support for the System and 

participation from conservation partners and the public.”

The Service’s land protection strategies in the future 

must be cutting edge and visionary, placing refuges in the 

context of landscape conservation. We must consider how 

established and future refuges, other protected areas and 

working landscapes can function collectively to conserve 

fish, wildlife and their habitats for future generations. This 

is key to the effort to conserve America’s great outdoors. 

The Service is committed to being an active partner, leader 

and catalyst in this effort.

Strategic growth of the Refuge System requires creating 

a portfolio of prioritized acquisition sites based on an 

adaptive management strategy. To create our land 

protection portfolio, we need to define the Refuge System’s 

38 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 39
role in working with others to achieve wildlife population 

objectives, assess the status of current habitat protection 

efforts, evaluate which entity is best positioned to 

undertake the long-term management of protected lands 

and prioritize the conservation gaps. The Refuge System’s 

role in filling some of these conservation gaps will include 

protecting existing habitat to safeguard against future 

losses, as well as targeted restoration to strategically grow 

the conservation estate. These efforts should be forwardlooking and keep the future needs of wildlife in mind. This 

assessment and gap analysis must be done both through 

the lens of the System’s statutory obligations—habitat 

protection efforts required to fulfill migratory bird treaties 

and endangered species recovery plans, for example—

and more broadly through a consideration of existing 

and future wildlife needs across the landscape—habitat 

corridors, lands and waters that wildlife need to adapt to 

a new climate regime and ecological communities missing 

from the conservation estate.

Recommendation 3: Undertake a rapid top-to-bottom 

assessment of the status of all Refuge System land 

protection projects and complete a report that will 

inform development of a plan for the strategic, future 

growth of the Refuge System. 

Our approach to planning future growth of the Refuge 

System will be enhanced by the new scientific capacity 

for biological planning and conservation design being 

developed by LCCs. Land protection efforts must focus 

on representation of ecological communities in protected 

areas, the redundancy of protection, adequate size of 

protected areas and the connectivity of protected areas. 

Conservation in the future must include the important roles 

of working ranches, farms and forests, as well as privately 

owned recreational properties with conservation provisions 

that can link and buffer protected areas.

After the Refuge System completes its comprehensive 

assessment, we will ensure that our habitat protection 

priorities are transparent and based on an objective 

analysis of both wildlife requirements and the need to 

conserve large landscapes and a full spectrum of ecosystem 

types. Land protection will be prioritized nationally using 

the best available science, and reflect contributions toward 

achieving national, regional and species-specific goals and 

objectives. Our land protection efforts will be adaptive, 

changing to keep pace with the science and immediacy 

of new threats. This effort will also be integrated with 

our partners’ programs, 

recognizing the potential 

to leverage protection 

efforts to achieve mutual 

conservation goals. 

The future growth of the 

Refuge System will be 

guided by the following 

priorities: habitats to fulfill 

the goals and objectives 

identified in threatened 

and endangered species 

recovery or habitat 

conservation plans; habitats 

to fulfill the goals and 

objectives identified in 

national bird, anadromous 

and interjuridictional 

fish, and marine mammal 

management plans; 

habitats that are unique, 

rare, declining or under-represented in existing protection 

efforts; climate refugia as identified by LCCs; and 

modifications to existing refuge boundaries to adapt to 

climate change as identified in the second generation of 

CCPs. We will develop a conservation planning tool to align 

with these priorities and principles of conservation biology. 

We must also carefully consider our investment strategies 

as the System grows. We must balance the need to 

complete high-priority protection at existing refuges with 

the opportunities presented by new protection projects. We 

will stretch dollars by using easements when appropriate, 

while also considering the important recreational 

“You cannot have landscape 

conservation without landscape 

conversation...these landscapes are 

fragile, but we have the people that 

have the passion, the heart to make 

change.” 

— Jim Stone, Blackfoot 

Challenge Chairman & Partner 

40 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 41
opportunities provided on refuges 

where we own the land. These 

questions point to the importance 

of the LCCs’ increased scientific 

capacity in biological planning and 

conservation design to understand 

and evaluate projects and identify 

the most important ones. They also 

highlight the need for effective 

inventory and monitoring to assure 

the ongoing success of our protection 

and management.

Recommendation 4: Ensure future 

land protection efforts are based on 

explicit priorities, rigorous biological 

planning and conservation design 

that support achieving quantifiable 

conservation and population 

objectives that are developed in 

cooperation with 

state fish and 

wildlife agencies. 

We recognize that 

habitat conservation 

and restoration 

efforts go beyond 

the boundaries of the Refuge 

System and require partnerships. We 

are committed to working with other 

programs throughout the Service 

and we look to new partnerships 

with other local, state and federal 

governmental agencies, conservation 

organizations, and private landowners 

to achieve shared conservation goals. 

We can accelerate conservation in priority areas by working 

strategically with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 

Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service 

Agency to better access and target Farm Bill dollars. Many 

conservation programs in the Farm Bill fund land 

protection through conservation easements and 

long-term rental contracts as well as restoration of 

forests, wetlands, grasslands, riparian buffers and 

other wildlife habitats. With the urgent need to 

both buffer conservation lands and connect them, 

we must aggressively pursue these and other 

opportunities to leverage habitat restoration 

and protection efforts—recognizing that, in 

many cases, outright acquisition of crucial 

habitat by the Refuge System is neither 

possible nor preferable. 

The Service’s Partners for Fish and 

Wildlife (PFW) program can help the 

Refuge System achieve these goals. 

In some regions, the objectives of 

PFW are well-coordinated with the 

Refuge System’s objectives and help 

leverage the benefits of national wildlife 

refuges, waterfowl production areas and 

conservation easements across a landscape. 

PFW biologists are fully conversant with Farm 

Bill and other federal, state and conservation 

organization conservation programs, and help 

private landowners choose the most appropriate 

and effective conservation tools available. In addition, 

the partners program often works to accomplish Refuge 

System goals by helping to restore high-priority habitats 

on private lands and then perpetually protecting them with 

conservation easements. This model of cooperation and 

shared objectives should be expanded nationwide.

Recommendation 5: Use all of the Service’s 

conservation tools, especially Partners for Fish and 

Wildlife, to work nationwide to project conservation 

benefits beyond refuge boundaries, leveraging resources 

through partnerships with other governmental agencies, 

conservation groups and private landowners and 

achieving mutually shared and scientifically sound 

restoration and protection goals around refuges.

42 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 43
A Commitment to Science 

The Refuge System has always relied upon science to 

inform its actions. From bird-banding studies in the early 

20th century to modern-day satellite imaging, we have 

collected and analyzed data, and used that information 

to guide conservation actions. But our ability to 

implement science has been uneven, hampered by various 

combinations of lack of staff, funding, clear objectives and 

organizational change. When we lack science capacity, it 

has a debilitating effect on our conservation work. Our 

credibility as professionals 

and as an organization 

is based on our scientific 

expertise and objectivity. To 

ensure our future success, 

we must enhance our 

science capacity to support 

refuge management. 

While we acknowledge the 

challenges, we recognize 

and affirm the primary 

role science plays in 

all of our work. Our 

commitment to scientific 

excellence permeates and 

transcends the Refuge 

System. We demonstrate 

this commitment by 

applying relevant 

science to all aspects of 

refuge management, 

and developing new methods of utilizing science to build 

conservation models, set habitat and population objectives, 

strategically plan the growth of the Refuge System, 

design conservation delivery actions, and measure our 

success. We also strive to expand the application of science 

within the Refuge System beyond biological sciences and 

include physical, social, historical and cultural sciences in 

our programs and management. And we are beginning 

to examine how we can apply adaptive management 

to our visitor services, law enforcement, fire, and even 

administrative functions.

The Refuge System is committed to four foundational 

elements for conservation 

science: apply science to refuge 

management; complete robust 

inventory and monitoring; 

develop deliberate research 

agendas; and expand 

communication, collaboration and 

contribution within the Service 

and among our partners. Our 

dedication to these principles 

helps maintain our credibility, 

ensures conservation efficacy and 

promotes our leadership in the conservation community. 

Vision: We are committed to a culture of scientific 

excellence, adhering to the highest standards of integrity 

and transparency, and are viewed as valued contributors to 

the broader scientific community.

Application of Science

Refuge management decisions must always be made in a 

scientific context. Science-driven management decisions use 

better information, improve efficiency, reduce uncertainty, 

and increase our ability to solve complex problems and 

adapt to changes in populations, habitats and systems. We 

must gather and integrate data from our robust inventory 

and monitoring efforts and directed research on refuges 

and use these data to inform our management decisions. 

Equally important, we must use these data to learn from 

our experiences and continually improve our conservation 

delivery through adaptive management. Grounded in this 

way, our management efforts will have impacts beyond the 

boundaries of our refuges and integrate with landscapescale habitat conservation frameworks. 

“Our level of scientific accountability 

must be higher in these times 

of increased expectations...all 

employees, not just biologists, must 

be well-versed in science.” 

— Dr. Gabriela Chavarria, USFWS 

44 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 45
Recommendation 6: Provide each refuge with access 

to resources to fully implement the principles of 

adaptive management.

Robust Inventory and Monitoring

Most wildlife refuges do not currently have a 

comprehensive baseline inventory of the fish, wildlife and 

plants that live there. This poses a challenge to the delivery 

of effective conservation, which requires an understanding 

of the abundance and distribution of species and their 

interactions with the habitat across space and time. It 

also requires the ability to detect trends and project shifts 

in these relationships brought about by environmental 

change. Understanding these complexities and anticipating 

management impacts will require robust inventory and 

monitoring approaches. 

There is no better place to monitor environmental change 

than in wilderness. The Refuge 

System includes at least 20 

million acres of wilderness, 

about 22 percent of lands 

within the nation’s National 

Wilderness Preservation 

System. This wilderness 

includes some of the largest 

and most intact landscapes 

in the country. Because 

wilderness areas emphasize 

natural conditions, they can 

serve as baseline or reference 

areas to be compared with 

similar ecosystems undergoing 

active management. Natural 

processes predominate without 

human intervention in wilderness areas, making these 

areas an important component in a national strategy for 

monitoring long-term ecological change, such as climate 

change. 

In 2010, the Service 

launched a national effort 

to increase the collective 

ability to inventory and 

monitor wildlife and 

habitats and inform 

conservation within the 

Refuge System. For 

this effort to succeed, 

it must have several 

elements. First, it must 

be institutionalized and 

purpose-driven, with clear 

goals. Second, although 

each refuge will have its 

own unique inventory and monitoring needs, it must be 

coordinated on both the regional and national levels, so 

data are comparable and useful in determining the status 

and trends of key species on broad geographic scales and 

timeframes. Third, it must encompass not only animals 

and plants, but other natural systems such as soils, air and 

water quality, and water quantity. 

Collecting consistent wildlife and habitat data on 

refuges is critically important, but it is only the first 

step. Data must be analyzed, explained and reported. 

This information will be crucial not only in informing 

refuge management and policy decisions, but also in 

contributing to the knowledge of the broader scientific 

and conservation communities. We must use information 

management tools to make our data readily available 

to these communities. Through these efforts, we can 

provide vital information for State Wildlife Action Plans 

and other conservation partners’ planning efforts, inform 

eco-regional planning efforts through the LCCs and 

others, and actively promote collaborative conservation. 

Additionally the availability of the data, analysis and 

transparency of the applications will help us both educate 

and demonstrate accountability to the public. 

“Look closer. You’ll see more 

than meets the eye.” 

— Alesha Ouren, age 10, 

Prairie Wetlands 

Learning Center Student 

46 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 47
Recommendation 7: Institutionalize a purpose-driven, 

nationally coordinated effort to inventory and monitor 

wildlife and habitats to obtain data that inform planning 

and management decisions; and develop a state-of-the-art 

data management system that can be integrated with the 

broader scientific community and key partners.

State of the System

Among the benefits of a more systematic and robust 

inventory and monitoring program and the associated 

sharing of information is that it allows identification of 

status and trend data on a regional or national scale. Our 

inventory and monitoring program should regularly publish 

this information in a report that focuses on the fish, wildlife 

and plants the Refuge System is 

charged to conserve. This “State 

of the Refuge System” report 

should assess factors such as:

a) the current condition 

and observed trends of natural 

resources on refuges within the 

context of overall conservation of 

our nation’s fish, wildlife and plants;

b) the major challenges 

currently facing the Refuge 

System;

c) expected future trends 

and their associated implications 

for potential changes in mission, 

roles and responsibilities;

d) current organizational 

capabilities compared to current 

and projected future needs. 

“We must work collaboratively. 

Partners ranging from other 

Service divisions, state and 

local agencies, organizations, 

and the landowners all need 

to be engaged. While more 

difficult and challenging, 

the end result is certainly 

vastly improved and a more 

comprehensive product.”

—Charlie Pelizza, USFWS

48 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 49

We do not envision this report as a decision document, but 

rather as a tool to stimulate thought and discussion about 

how the Refuge System can best continue to contribute to 

the conservation of the nation’s fish, wildlife, and habitat 

in the future. The goals of the report should be to further 

collaboration on improving the condition of the Refuge 

System, highlight and celebrate successful programs 

underway, and encourage strategic approaches to adapting 

to changing conditions.

Recommendation 8: Create a new, quadrennial report 

on the state of the Refuge System starting in 2015, as 

part of an effort to report on the status and trends of 

wildlife and habitat in the System and ensure that all 

data gathered are easily accessible and shared widely 

among the Service, the scientific community and 

the public.

Deliberate Research Agenda

To date, much of the scientific research taking place 

on refuges has not been coordinated or guided by an 

overall strategy. We must do a better job of articulating 

and guiding our research so that it is both relevant and 

contributes to management decisions. To help set a 

deliberate research agenda, we must routinely and openly 

identify and challenge the assumptions that influence our 

management decisions. We must then determine which 

of those assumptions are the most significant and least 

certain, and elevate those as research priorities. We must 

fully engage our partners in setting our research agenda 

so that we can identify common priorities, coordinate our 

efforts and share the costs. A focused research agenda will 

not only inform management decisions across the System, 

it will also contribute to the broader body of science.

Recommendation 9: Develop and clearly articulate 

a research agenda for the Refuge System that is 

management-oriented and grounded in the testing of 

assumptions, with the explicit purpose of reducing 

uncertainty in our planning and management decisions.
Communication, Collaboration and Contribution in Science

Just as we cannot overcome the management challenges 

of the future alone, neither can we overcome the scientific 

challenges alone. We must embrace communication and 

collaboration in all fields if we are to achieve our goals. 

In the realm of conservation science, that means we 

must both lead and be strong partners. If we coordinate 

research and monitoring projects with our partners and 

communicate the results to the conservation community, 

we will improve our ability to leverage assistance; enhance 

our opportunities to share ideas, plans and strategies; and 

maximize our chances to capitalize on shared interests and 

opportunities. 

We must build shared inventory and monitoring efforts; 

combine our scientific and technical capabilities with others; 

and work more closely with business, industry, conservation 

organizations, academia, private landowners, interested 

citizens and, in particular, with our state, federal and tribal 

partners. To conserve, restore and manage our nation’s 

wildlife, we will actively coordinate and communicate both 

within the Service and among stakeholders. We will encourage 

coordinated research in all fields—including the social 

sciences, where researchers can utilize our refuges as outdoor 

laboratories to benefit both the refuge and the broader body 

of knowledge. We will search for new partners while we seek 

to renew and reinvigorate existing partnerships. Equally 

important, we will commit to communicating effectively, 

helping the public and our partners to understand and 

appreciate our stewardship of refuge lands and waters. 

Recommendation 10:: Become a major contributor to 

the scientific community by sharing information and 

data; publishing scientific findings; participating in 

professional societies; and engaging with local, regional 

and national organizations and communities to solve 

conservation problems.

50 Wildlife and Wildlands Conserving the Future 51
Chapter 2:

A Connected Conservation 

Constituency 

America is a different place than it was a century or even 

a decade ago. Our society is more ethnically and culturally 

diverse, increasingly urban and older—and Americans 

strive to not only accommodate diversity, but celebrate it. 

We have moved far away from our agrarian roots, with 80 

percent of Americans now living 

in urban or suburban areas. 

Though nature may seem farther 

away, and we struggle to explain 

the mystery of its benefits, many 

agree that time in nature is vital 

to our health and mental wellbeing, and helps nourish our 

sense of wonder, imagination 

and curiosity. The psychological, 

ecological and economic 

amenities that nature provides 

are a boon for Americans from 

all walks of life, including those 

who may never visit a national wildlife refuge. As we 

work to keep pace with a changing America, we recognize 

that more Americans will appreciate nature and refuges 

“virtually.” 

Today’s conservation challenges are far too big for any one 

agency or organization to surmount—they require all of 

us to take steadfast action together. As leaders, partners 

and role models in conservation efforts, we seek to inspire 

others to work with us —so that together we can leave a 

legacy of abundant and healthy wildlife and wild lands for 

future generations of Americans to enjoy.

Though our fundamental mission is wildlife conservation, 

we recognize that to be successful we must inspire the 

52 A Connected Conservation Constituency Conserving the Future 53
American people to connect with their wildlife heritage 

and participate as stewards of the System. As an integral 

part of local communities, refuges are great places to 

build a broader conservation constituency. Refuges work 

with schools, civic groups and individuals to share our 

passion for the environment and our mission. We must 

push ourselves to reach out to those who are yet unfamiliar 

with who we are and what we do. Part of our mission is 

ensuring that all our citizens benefit from refuges, and this 

helps sustain strong support for the Refuge System. Our 

goal must be to inspire all Americans to become part of a 

conservation constituency. 

Vision: Engage the American people, so that we better 

understand their expectations and they are increasingly 

aware of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System and its role in 

conservation. 

Public Stewardship

The growth of the refuge 

volunteers and friends 

groups during the past 30 

years has been a remarkable 

achievement of public 

involvement and stewardship. 

Volunteers of all ages and 

abilities now provide a wide 

array of vital services on 

refuges: Working side by 

side with Service staff, they 

greet the public and teach 

the young; they clear trails 

and control invasive species; and they provide biological 

expertise with precision and enthusiasm. If a job needs 

doing on a national wildlife refuge, chances are good that 

a volunteer is ready to help. The Refuge System could 

not function without the 1.3 million hours of work that our 

almost 40,000 volunteers contribute every year. 

The Refuge System has similarly been fortified by the active 

involvement of friends groups. These locally established, 

nonprofit citizen organizations have many different names, 

but they all share our passion for wildlife and our love of 

wild places. They are a refuge’s best ambassador in the 

community—sharing knowledge with their neighbors and 

standing firm when fish and wildlife are in peril. They 

epitomize the idea that all conservation is local. 

Recommendation 11: Develop and nurture active and 

vibrant friends groups or community partnerships for 

every staffed refuge or refuge complex.

The Refuge System must continue to build on these 

successful citizen partnerships and take advantage of 

the opportunities that an active baby boom generation 

provides. A large generation of skilled and motivated 

people is moving into retirement and looking for new 

challenges and ways to continue to contribute to their 

communities. Demographers also tell us that these 

‘boomers’ love the outdoors. We have what they need.

Many refuge volunteer programs have been limited by a lack of 

refuge staff to recruit, train and supervise volunteers. Refuge 

System staff growth will likely not keep pace with the needs, 

but if we accelerate the development of a more self-directed 

and self-perpetuating volunteer program, there is no limit to 

the work we can accomplish. Who better to recruit and train 

volunteers than a retired human resources manager? Who 

better to work alongside a refuge biologist and help with a new 

system-wide biological inventory and monitoring effort than 

a retired researcher? Who better to help us develop a school 

partnership than a retired teacher? They have what we need. 

The National Wildlife Refuge Association and other 

partner organizations, as well as our local friends groups, 

can help us develop a new model of a self-sustaining 

volunteer workforce. With training and mentoring, 

we can continue to build a Refuge System that meets 

the needs of wildlife while filling lives with purpose. 

Refuge management will continue to evolve as a shared 

responsibility between the Service and the public.

“Whether you are with the Fish and 

Wildlife Service, a state agency, an 

NGO, or a Friends group, you are on 

the front lines of conservation.” 

—Evan Hirsche, President, National 

Wildlife Refuge Association 

54 A Connected Conservation Constituency Conserving the Future 55
Recommendation 12: Develop a national strategy 

for recruiting, coordinating and supporting a more 

self-sustaining volunteer corps, while creating 

new opportunities for community involvement in 

implementing refuge priorities.

An Urban Refuge Initiative 

The Refuge System now spans the continent and reaches 

across oceans, providing safe homes for our nation’s fish, 

wildlife and plants. But despite our broad geographic 

reach, we face challenges in connecting with all Americans. 

We struggle to remain relevant to urban citizens who have 

competing priorities and few outside experiences; we strain 

to find ways to connect with young Americans who are 

technologically fluent but deficient in nature experiences, 

and we toil to recruit and retain a more inclusive workforce 

that reflects the diversity of America. 

While there are several national wildlife refuges close 

to large cities, most refuges are in the wilder corners of 

America, beyond easy reach for most people living in our 

largest metropolitan areas. Though some cities are now 

expanding into the countryside – changing once ‘rural 

refuges’ into ‘urban refuges’ – it is not likely that many new 

national wildlife refuges will be established near our largest 

cities. To help an urban America continue to benefit from 

its wildlife heritage, we propose an urban wildlife refuge 

initiative that relies more on partnerships and collaboration 

than on the traditional refuge establishments.

This new initiative will have three major parts. First, it will 

establish measures to help existing urban wildlife refuges 

define and achieve excellence. The Service is fortunate 

to have many refuges near urban centers and several 

at the heart of some of our largest cities, including San 

Francisco, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Denver 

and Washington, D.C. But we have never articulated the 

extraordinary opportunities and expectations we have for 

these refuges to reach urban audiences. Before we can 

achieve excellence in these or other urban centers, we must 

define excellence. We will convene a summit of our existing 

urban refuge managers to help describe and measure 

success. 

The elements of excellence might include the following: 

successful urban school partnerships reaching a diverse 

student population; full integration with urban green-space 

planning; a wide array of volunteer opportunities; youth 

employment and internship opportunities; information 

that helps people connect 

with the entire Service; 

objective evaluation of 

the various education 

and outreach activities; 

and a robust interpretive 

effort that inspires the 

imagination and engages 

the public through 

multiple media. Once we 

have defined excellence 

and analyzed gaps in our 

existing efforts, we will 

focus our resources to 

achieve excellence in each 

urban refuge. 

Second, the new 

initiative will create 

urban presences for the Refuge System. Fortunately, 

most large cities have excellent parks and nature areas; 

these provide a huge opportunity for the Refuge System 

to establish an urban presence through cooperation and 

partnerships. We will offer our urban partners technical 

assistance with habitat and wildlife management activities, 

help with establishing wildlife education efforts, help with 

conservation employment opportunities for urban youth 

and help with giving their urban population knowledge of, 

and access to, the Refuge System. 

Third, the new initiative will reach cities of various sizes. 

We will establish refuge partnerships in a sampling of 

cities ranging from large to midsize, from old to young and 

“We need to configure a 

landscape that gives wildlife a 

chance to adapt.” 

—Greg Siekaniec, USFWS 

56 A Connected Conservation Constituency Conserving the Future 57
assets to the communities around them, evoking a deeply 

meaningful sense of place and generating both economic 

and environmental benefits. 

The diverse habitats in refuges directly 

or indirectly provide such essential and 

irreplaceable benefits as clean air and 

water, reduced erosion and flooding, 

pollination of crops, and many other 

ecological services. The value these 

ecosystem services provide on a global 

basis is approximately $33 trillion per 

year; more than half the global gross 

domestic product. Recreational use on 

wildlife refuges generated almost $1.7 

billion in total economic activity just 

to local economies in 2006. In addition, 

property values surrounding refuges 

are often higher than equivalent 

properties elsewhere. These and other 

economic benefits of wildlife refuges are 

undeniable.

Yet the economic and environmental 

benefits of refuges are neither well 

understood nor widely appreciated. 

The Refuge System remains largely 

unknown to most Americans. Even 

those who visit a refuge property may 

not realize that they are at a national wildlife refuge, that 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages it or that 

it is part of a system with breadth and mission. Before 

Americans can support that mission, they must have 

opportunities to experience, care for and value the land 

that we manage on their behalf. The land must become, as 

Aldo Leopold expressed it, something people “can see, feel, 

understand, love or otherwise have faith in.”

If we want broad support, communicating what we do, and 

why, is as important as doing it. We must articulate and 

promote the benefits as well as the opportunities offered 

by refuges and the importance of conservation—especially 

growing. Each region will seek to establish at least one 

or two new urban refuge partnerships, in a measured and 

coordinated way so that cities of many shapes and sizes 

are represented. Over time, we will share the successful 

elements of these efforts and expand them to other urban 

centers. 

We are also mindful that reaching citizens of diverse 

ethnicities involves connecting not just with urban areas, 

but also with rural communities. For example, many 

refuges in the South could develop an African-American 

constituency, while in other parts of the country, we could 

reach out to tribal and 

Hispanic communities. 

While our overarching 

goal is to build broad 

awareness and support 

for our national wildlife 

refuges, engaging these 

rural constituencies is 

vital to the success of 

landscape conservation 

strategies. Rural areas 

can also serve as a 

pipeline for Service 

professionals who have a 

fundamental connection 

to, and appreciation of, 

the natural world.

Recommendation 13: Create an urban refuge 

initiative that defines excellence in our existing urban 

refuges, establishes the framework for creating new 

urban refuge partnerships and implements a refuge 

presence in 10 demographically and geographically 

varied cities across America by 2015.

Getting the Word Out

Refuges are home to some of the nation’s most treasured, 

iconic and rare wildlife and wilderness. They are important 

Ecosystem services:

The benefits people 

get from nature. 

These are generally 

divided into 

four categories: 

provisioning 

services (such 

as food and 

water); regulating 

services (such as 

flood and disease 

control); cultural 

services (such as 

spiritual renewal 

and recreational 

opportunities); 

and supporting 

services (such as 

crop pollination and 

nutrient cycling).

58 A Connected Conservation Constituency Conserving the Future 59

“Bring unconventional partners into

our fabric of interest. Ultimately

people might then care about

wilderness.” 

—Majora Carter, Executive Director, 

Sustainable South Bronx 
in fresh venues such as city parks, community centers, 

shopping malls and other public gathering spaces. Many 

national wildlife refuges are successfully collaborating with 

community groups and are a consistent and fully integrated 

presence in their communities. We must replicate such 

models and improve communication with nontraditional 

audiences to determine how refuges can better serve their 

interests and whet their appetites for wildlife experiences. 

Wherever we find Americans 

interested in preserving our 

natural or cultural heritage, 

undertaking citizen science, 

volunteering their services 

or participating in healthy 

outdoor activities, we must 

engage them as stewards of 

our land and waters.

Vision: Every employee 

is fluent in the ecological 

and societal benefits 

of the System and is a 

tireless ambassador to all 

Americans. 

We are all ambassadors for 

the Service and the Refuge 

System. Employees need to 

be not only experts in their 

specialties, but familiar with 

the mission and goals of the 

System as a whole—and 

both willing and able to articulate the many benefits and 

accomplishments of refuges to the community at large. 

But to be truly effective ambassadors, we need a clear and 

consistent message that is understandable, memorable 

and effective in building an engaged and informed 

conservation constituency. Fostering the development 

of citizen conservationists with strong connections to 

America’s great outdoors is an ambitious undertaking, but 

to remain relevant to a changing society, we must engage 

people, inform them about natural places and inspire them 

“Technology is the key to getting 

‘generation next’ back outside. ” 

—Michael Gale, USFWS 

to visit. To do this, we must have an integrated, long-term 

communications strategy. 

Such a communications strategy must identify key 

audiences, develop and test messages that resonate with 

those audiences, and create 

benchmarks for measuring 

success. It must ensure that 

a professional and positive 

Refuge System brand is 

promoted at all times, and that 

this brand is consistent and 

recognizable not only across 

communications platforms—

publications, websites and signs, 

for example—but also in publicly 

visible infrastructure such as 

facilities and uniforms. While 

much of the work on refuges 

involves active management, we should strive to provide 

the public with a ‘natural’ and welcoming experience that 

promotes the impression that these are unspoiled havens 

for wildlife.

In developing a communications plan and promoting its 

brand, the Refuge System can and should take advantage 

of the expertise and resources available in both traditional 

partners—such as hunters and anglers, and the rest of the 

conservation community—and in nontraditional partners 

such as corporations and marketing firms. In this way, 

the Refuge System can leverage its limited resources and 

tap into both the experience and marketing muscle of the 

nongovernmental and corporate worlds—helping to get the 

message out about America’s “hidden treasure.”

Recommendation 14: Create a strategic 

communications plan that educates the public about our 

mission and accomplishments, and creates a positive, 

professional ‘brand’ for the System. 

America is a wired nation, and an increasing number of 

people are relying on smart phones, tablets and other 

60 A Connected Conservation Constituency Conserving the Future 61
electronic devices to gather information and communicate 

with one another. The Refuge System cannot rely solely 

on posted signs, printed brochures or interpretive kiosks 

to orient and educate the public. We need to fully utilize 

electronic communications tools— such as websites, social 

media and mobile applications—to invite and prepare 

people to visit refuges, give them up-to-date information on 

what is happening there and develop a greater appreciation 

for natural values—even if they are unable to visit a refuge.

Modern communications tools are not only valuable for 

external communications, but they also facilitate internal 

communications. The Refuge System can increase 

productivity by adopting communication 

tools that facilitate the exchange of 

experience, knowledge and ideas 

among staff, and with practitioners 

and specialists from other areas 

and organizations. At present, such 

“communities of practice” are often 

isolated from each other by regional 

or administrative barriers. These 

barriers must be broken down. Sharing 

knowledge is a fundamental strategy 

for adapting during periods of rapid 

change. 

Recommendation 15: Develop 

integrated mechanisms for using 

web-based and other emerging tech-

nologies to store and share data, 

communicate within the System, and 

inspire and educate visitors and the 

public. 

The Outside Connection

Spending time outdoors is good for both our spirit and 

our health. Recreation and relaxation in nature reduces 

stress and anxiety, promotes learning and personal growth, 

nourishes the imagination, and provides mental and physical 

restoration. Direct experiences in the outdoors often lead 

to a commitment to, and involvement with, stewardship of 

our shared natural legacy. The Refuge System’s wildlife 

dependant uses promote getting outside and experiencing 

nature. Americans must learn anew that national wildlife 

refuges not only provide essential 

habitat for wildlife, but they also are 

beneficial and relevant places for 

people. We must actively encourage 

and provide new opportunities for 

people of all ages and backgrounds to 

connect with nature by visiting their 

national wildlife refuges, personally 

or virtually.

Vision: Refuges are welcoming, safe 

and accessible for visitors, with 

a variety of ways to enjoy, learn 

about, appreciate and help conserve 

America’s wildlife. 

Conservation law enforcement has 

been the first step in effective refuge management since 

Paul Kroegel patrolled the nesting bird colonies at Pelican 

Island more than a century ago. A top priority for the 

Refuge System must be to adequately staff refuges with 

sufficient officers to protect wildlife and habitat and make 

refuges safe places for staff and visitors. If refuges don’t 

provide for basic public safety and resource protection, 

they won’t be successful in accomplishing their purposes 

and the mission of the Refuge System. If efforts to reach 

new visitors are successful in drawing a larger and more 

diverse audience to refuges, they must first and foremost 

feel safe. Refuge law enforcement officers are on the front 

lines in making refuges safe and visitors feel welcome. 

They are often the most visible ambassadors to the visiting 

public. Although we have made progress in modernizing 

refuge law enforcement during the past decade, much work 

remains to be done to complete needed reforms.

62 A Connected Conservation Constituency Conserving the Future 63

The National 

Wildlife 

Refuge System 

Improvement Act 

of 1997 identified 

the “Big 6” 

wildlife-dependent 

recreational uses 

of the system: 

hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation, 

photography, 

interpretation and 

education.
There are myriad opportunities to expand wildlifedependent recreation on refuges. One is by working with 

traditional conservation partners to market and promote 

refuge visitation, improve access, and encourage young 

people and other novices to take up hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation and photography. Another is by 

forming and enlarging partnerships with interested groups 

such as the birding community to provide strategic advice 

on increasing birding opportunities in the Refuge System. 

This has worked successfully 

with the Refuge System 

Birding Initiative, and we 

should expand upon this 

model. 

We must also look for ways 

to build relationships with 

people who have not had 

traditional links to wild 

lands and wildlife, and 

encourage them to visit 

refuges. One way to do 

that is to remove language 

barriers. Adding bilingual 

staff and multilanguage 

signage on wildlife refuges 

will not only make those 

who do not speak English 

feel more welcome, but will 

expand the reach of our 

interpretive and educational 

programs. Another way to 

encourage visitation is to 

remove physical barriers. 

Refuges should work with local communities to facilitate 

transportation for seniors and people with disabilities. 

We must also retrofit existing facilities so they comply 

with Americans with Disabilities Act standards and the 

Universal Trail Assessment Process. Refuges should 

also train staff to relate to and assist people with special 

needs.

Recommendation 16: Conduct a new, independent 

analysis of refuge law enforcement to measure progress 

and identify needed improvements.

The National Wildlife Refuge System provides some of the 

finest outdoor recreational opportunities in the world. Indeed, 

more than 44 million people visited national wildlife refuges in 

2009. Most of these visitors came for the wildlife-dependent 

recreational opportunities for which refuges are commonly 

known: hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photography, 

environmental education and interpretation. The Refuge 

System Improvement Act gave these wildlife-dependent 

recreational uses priority over other uses on national wildlife 

refuges. 

The Refuge System has a steadfast commitment to, and 

long-standing conservation partnership with, America’s 

hunters and anglers. This partnership has protected millions 

of acres, restored and enhanced land and waters throughout 

the nation, and provided continuing opportunities for these 

sporting traditions. Refuges must continue to work with 

state conservation organizations to provide new hunting and 

fishing programs, and will expand efforts to provide special 

opportunities for children and those with disabilities. 

The Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council 

and the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership were 

established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to 

provide guidance on our policies that support these types of 

recreational activities. Working with these councils, we can 

continue to expand our wildlife-dependent constituency by 

creating innovative programs that engage underrepresented 

users in the Refuge System.

Recommendation 17: The Service will work closely with 

state fish and wildlife agencies to conduct a review of 

its current hunting and fishing opportunities, especially 

opportunities currently offered for youth and people 

with disabilities. Based on this review, the Service and 

states will work cooperatively to prepare a strategy for 

increasing quality hunting and fishing opportunities on 

national wildlife refuges.

“Thanks to the efforts of hunters and 

anglers and other conservationists, 

we now have extensive public 

lands, including National Wildlife 

Refuges, that support abundant fish 

and wildlife populations that belong 

to all of us as a people. This is the 

heart of the North American Wildlife 

Conservation Model.” 

—John Kennedy, Deputy Director, 

Wyoming Game and Fish Department 

64 A Connected Conservation Constituency Conserving the Future 65
In the end, promoting our relevance to the lives of Americans 

is about access. People care about what they know and what 

they can experience. Wildlife refuges should be accessible to 

all, regardless of their location or physical abilities. 

Recommendation 18: Support and enhance appropriate 

recreation opportunities on national wildlife refuges 

by partnering with state fish and wildlife agencies, 

other governmental bodies, conservation organizations 

and businesses; and by updating relevant policies and 

infrastructure.

Often described as the “front porch of the Service,” the Refuge 

System provides an incredible opportunity for Americans to 

meet the Service. The 

most opportune way for 

the public to experience 

the Refuge System is 

through the effective 

use of interpretation. 

Interpretation is often 

misunderstood and 

frequently confused with 

environmental education. 

However, the two are very 

different. An interpretive 

program on a wildlife 

refuge is designed to 

facilitate meaningful 

and memorable visitor 

experiences, and 

encourage stewardship 

of the wildlife and habitat 

of the visited refuge and 

the Refuge System as 

a national network of conservation lands. Through the use 

of interpretation, the Refuge System can create a personal, 

emotional connection with visitors.

While some refuges have developed strong interpretation 

programs, the Refuge System as a whole has not yet 

capitalized on this powerful tool. The National Association for 

Interpretation has developed standards and best practices 

that should guide the Refuge System. Our interpretation 

program should do the following: inspire the imagination of 

visitors by increasing their enjoyment and understanding 

of wildlife refuges; be delivered in multiple formats utilizing 

technology to maximize effectiveness; reach multiple 

audiences – connecting with people of any age, ethnicity, 

gender, culture, class and lifestyle; and include an evaluation 

component that helps us gauge the effectiveness of our efforts. 

By expanding opportunities to experience a wildlife refuge 

through a well-built interpretation program, we can meet 

the diverse needs of visitors and show visitors the place that 

wildlife refuges hold for them.

Recommendation 19: Develop an interpretation 

strategy that builds upon current Service standards 

and guidelines, takes advantage of multiple modes 

of delivering messages, reaches diverse audiences, 

and measures the effectiveness of our programs in 

partnership with key government agencies, the 

National Association for Interpretation and other 

professional organizations.

Environmental education can be a key tool that provides 

people a deeper understanding of their ecological place 

in the natural world, offers a clear understanding of 

the benefits of the Refuge System and other protected 

areas, and provides an avenue to promote an ecological 

conscience in future conservationists. Our education 

programs are also pathways to articulate nature’s benefits 

and demonstrate tangible contributions to community 

schools. Environmental education is fundamental to 

nurturing a strong land ethic in the next generation and is 

a critical part of developing people’s appreciation of, and 

participation in, decisions affecting wildlife and habitat 

conservation. 

Recommendation 20: Develop an environmental 

education strategy that inventories existing efforts, 

identifies priorities for investment of staff and funds, 

and outlines basic standards for all refuges. 

66 A Connected Conservation Constituency

“We need to educate our publics. 

It’s fundamental to nurturing a 

strong land ethic and critical to 

developing people’s appreciation and 

participating in decisions affecting 

wildlife and habitat conservation. 

We must act now.” —Wendi Weber, USFWS 

Conserving the Future 67
Chapter 3:

Leading Conservation 

into the Future 

The National Wildlife Refuge System faces an uncertain 

future. Society and landscapes are changing; threats to fish, 

wildlife and their habitats are escalating; federal budgets 

are uncertain; and pressures 

on employees are mounting. 

With these challenges, 

the organization needs 

leaders who can embrace 

change and innovation, 

anticipate opportunities, 

remain transparent and 

take calculated risks. These 

leaders must be adaptive and 

visionary, inspiring employees 

and partners to exceed 

what is necessary and seek 

what is possible. They must 

possess agility, passion and 

exceptional communication 

skills, and they must be skilled in the use of technology. 

And these leaders must be committed to developing the 

next generation of conservation stewards.

The leaders of tomorrow also need to embrace and 

extol the fundamental principles on which the Service 

is based. These include integrity, fairness, hard work, 

openness, collaboration, workforce diversity and service 

to the American people. Equally important, they need to 

demonstrate and instill in others the Service’s commitment 

to being stewards of a sacred trust, and embody the land 

ethic of Aldo Leopold, which holds that people must respect 

and value as equals the animals, plants, soils and waters 

that are part of their communities.

68 Leading Conservation into the Future Conserving the Future 69
Vision: Our workforce is diverse and inclusive, shares a 

passionate conservation ethic, and works together as a 

cohesive whole.

Organizational Efficiencies

Healthy organizations are continually changing, learning 

from the past and striving to find new ways to achieve 

their missions. Since the 1940s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service has done just that, growing from an original five to 

its present eight geographic regions to accommodate the 

Service’s growing responsibilities.

Regional boundaries 

have also expanded and 

contracted through the 

years. States such as 

Virginia, Missouri and 

Iowa have been shifted 

to new regions and then 

shifted back. Functions 

similarly changed through 

the years. Predator and 

rodent control activities, 

for example, were moved 

out of the Service and 

into the Department of 

Agriculture. Within the 

Service, programs and 

authorities have shifted 

from headquarters to 

regions, and between 

assistant directors and 

offices. For example, 

the Service’s law 

enforcement program 

has been through several 

realignments. Many 

other organizational changes occurred, each the result 

of management seeking improvement in efficiencies and 

effectiveness.

“Do not be afraid. History tells us 

over and over again that we can have 

great successes in difficult times if 

we have a clear vision; if we have 

strong leadership.”—Jim Kurth, USFWS 

Organizational change and realignment is inevitable and 

healthy. In this time of budget challenges, we must take a 

fresh look at our organizational structure to see if it still 

makes sense. Our goal must be to align our resources to 

efficiently deliver on our mission and effectively serve the 

American people, while staying 

as lean as possible. Among 

the questions we must ask: 

With the benefits of advanced 

communication technology, 

does the current headquartersregion-refuge structure still 

make sense? Do we need eight 

assistant regional directors, 

and eight regional program 

branches? Are there support 

functions that can be shared 

among regions? Are there 

elements of the past area-office 

concept that make sense today? 

Are there benefits to managing 

as a system by having similar 

organizational alignment in the 

field, regions and headquarters 

office? Can we reduce redundancies by having regions 

share programmatic expertise? How can we realign to 

find synergy and efficiency so that conservation planning 

and design efforts are integrated and our conservation 

delivery most efficient? Since refuges need to work beyond 

their boundaries, should they have the organizational 

reach of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife staff? These 

and other questions deserve serious consideration. The 

time is right for a new generation of leaders to find ways 

to better manage refuges as a system, while increasing our 

organizational efficiencies. 

Recommendation 21: Assemble an evaluation team 

consisting of Service and Refuge System leaders to 

report to the Service Directorate on opportunities 

for organizational realignments or programmatic 

efficiencies.

70 Leading Conservation into the Future Conserving the Future 71
Succession Isn’t Just for Habitats

Several decades ago, the Service recognized the need to 

diversify its workforce. Capitalizing on the cadre of women 

with biological backgrounds and training, the Service 

became a more inclusive workforce. Today, however, 

we still do not reflect the diversity of America. We are 

an overwhelmingly white and aging organization that 

struggles with being relevant in this rapidly changing 

society. We acknowledge and celebrate different cultural 

values and recognize the importance of a workforce that 

resembles the community in which it exists. 

We recognize that the Service will not reflect the diversity 

of the country by simply setting diversity targets. We 

must engage and prepare a diverse group of qualified and 

enthusiastic professionals that want to make the Service 

and the Refuge System their life’s work. We have made 

progress toward this goal with our student and youth 

programs, but we need to do better. We must look to our 

new urban wildlife refuge initiative and national and 

regional offices located in urban centers as ways to recruit 

and prepare young people 

from diverse backgrounds 

for a career in refuges. 

We must be adaptive 

and flexible to recruit a 

workforce that reflects 

society. In so doing, we 

aim to not only enhance 

public support for the 

Refuge System, but to 

ensure a workforce of the 

best and brightest minds. 

We recognize that 

diversity in education, 

discipline, skills and 

background is also 

important. As we 

transition from an older to 

a younger workforce, we 

must look for ways to transfer knowledge from senior staff. 

As part of this succession, we will value diversity of people 

and skills to create a culture of inclusivity. 

Recommendation 22: Within the next 10 years, make 

our workforce match the diversity in the civilian 

labor workforce. Recruit and retain a workforce that 

reflects the ethnic, age, socioeconomic and cultural 

backgrounds, and language 

diversity of contemporary 

America. 

Leadership 

In Fulfilling the Promise, a 

detailed history of leadership in 

the Refuge System and several 

specific issues and solutions were 

set forth. While some of these 

recommendations have been 

implemented, little progress has 

been made on others—and in some cases, due to economic 

and other challenges, we have actually lost ground. The 

economic downturn and associated housing crisis have 

made mobility in the workforce a daunting challenge. 

Aggressive workforce planning efforts, required to address 

reduced budgets, have resulted in fewer entry-level 

management positions. 

We do not need to rewrite Fulfilling the Promise, nor 

reiterate the leadership challenges and recommendations 

that are essentially unchanged in 13 years. Instead, we 

must re-commit to the timeless principles of leadership set 

forth in that document and build from that foundation. 

Recommendation 23: Revisit Fulfilling the 

Promise and seek innovative ways to address 

the recommendations therein to reinvigorate our 

commitment to leadership development. 

Successful leaders focus on what they can do, what they can 

contribute and how they can make things better regardless 

72 Leading Conservation into the Future Conserving the Future 73

“You said you wanted a connected 

conservation constituency...I’m here 

with a message really to say that the 

millenial generation is ready take 

up these challenges.”

—Juan Martinez, 

Children & Nature Network
of the circumstances in which they find themselves. This 

inner focus, self-awareness and confidence drives leaders to 

accept increasingly greater challenges. 

We must equip our 

workforce at every level 

with the tools necessary 

to be effective leaders. To 

do so, we must provide 

them with the mindset, 

skills, experiences, 

abilities and confidence 

to know that everyone 

can make a difference in 

our organization and in 

the greater conservation 

cause. 

This does not mean we 

all must aspire to rise 

to the top. It does mean 

that we must aspire to 

do the absolute best 

we can in whatever 

circumstances we find 

ourselves. We must create 

an environment where 

every employee can 

succeed and contribute 

regardless of their grade, 

organizational position or geographic location. 

The Refuge System deserves excellence in leadership. We 

have admittedly lamented at times that Refuge System 

employees don’t either aspire to or attain higher levels of 

responsibility in the Service; but leaders focus on what they 

can do. What we can do, and what we must do, is prepare 

our employees to be leaders in every job they hold. 

74 Leading Conservation into the Future Conserving the Future 75

“The challenge lies before us—to 

be the conservation leaders that 

are needed today and to create 

conservation leaders of tomorrow.” —Rebekah Martin, USFWS 

Recommendation 24: Develop and mentor Refuge 

System employees so they are fully equipped to accept 

the responsibilities of leadership at all levels in the 

Service. 

A Renewed Commitment to Our Guiding Principles

One of the most important responsibilities of our leaders 

is to articulate the principles that guide our work, to teach 

these principles to new employees and ensure they are 

followed. As a generation of our leaders retires, we need 

to ensure that our guiding principles, or core values, set 

forth more than a decade ago are handed down to the next 

generation of leaders and employees. 

Among these principles, one of the most significant but 

difficult to define is Aldo Leopold’s land ethic. In his classic 

book A Sand County Almanac, Leopold devotes a chapter 

to laying out his vision of the land ethic. In it, he offers a 

sharp counterpoint to the then-prevailing view of absolute 

human dominion over nature. He places humans not at the 

top of a natural resources pyramid, but in a circle with wild 

animals, plants and other elements of the natural world. 

Leopold writes, “A land ethic of course cannot prevent the 

alteration, management, and use of these resources, but it 

does affirm their right to continued existence, and, at least 

in spots, their continued existence in a natural state.” 

We reaffirm our commitment to our guiding principles and 

introduce a new principle to highlight our commitment to 

science. 
76 Leading Conservation into the Future Conserving the Future 77

Guiding Principles

We are land stewards, guided by Aldo Leopold’s 

teachings that land is a community of life and 

that love and respect for the land is an extension 

of ethics. We seek to reflect that land ethic in our 

stewardship and to instill it in others.

Wild lands and the perpetuation of diverse and 

abundant wildlife are essential to the quality of 

the American life.

We are public servants. We owe our employers, the 

American people, hard work, integrity, fairness 

and a voice in the protection of their trust resources.

Management, ranging from preservation to active 

manipulation of habitats and populations, is 

necessary to achieve Refuge System and U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service missions.

Wildlife-dependent uses involving hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation, photography, interpretation 

and education, when compatible, are legitimate and 

appropriate uses of the Refuge System.

Partnerships with those who want to help us meet 

our mission are welcome and indeed essential.

Employees are our most valuable resource. They are

respected and deserve an empowering, mentoring 

and caring work environment.

We respect the rights, beliefs and opinions of our 

neighbors. 

We are a science-based organization. We subscribe 

to the highest standards of scientific integrity 

and reflect this commitment in the design, delivery and 

evaluation of all of our work. 
Mission Statement

The mission of the National 

Wildlife Refuge System is to 

administer a national network

of lands and waters for the 

conservation, management and, 

where appropriate, restoration of 

the fish, wildlife and plant 

resources and their habitats within 

the United States for the benefit 

of present and future generations 

of Americans. 

78 Leading Conservation into the Future Conserving the Future 79
A Final 

Call to Action

Conserving the Future was written by 

you and for you—the next generation 

of conservation leaders. It is one more 

chapter in the story of the National 

Wildlife Refuge System. This story 

began when the last century was new 

with a few small marks on our nation’s 

map, staking a claim for the future of 

wildlife. This story is built upon the idea 

that the preservation of America’s fish 

and wildlife must be a part of our shared 

future. This tale has always been one of 

optimism, innovation and vision. Now 

this story compels you to add your own 

chapter and take your place among a long 

line of conservation heroes. 

Which challenges will you accept, and 

which future will you make?

80 A Final Call to Action Conserving the Future 81
82 Acknowledgements Conserving the Future 83

Acknowledgements 

This renewed vision document would 

not have been possible without the hard 

work and dedication of many people. The 

Steering Committee, Core Team members, 

writers and editors of the document, 

Director, Deputy Director, Chief of the 

Refuge System, and all those who provided 

comments, bold ideas, and feedback to make 

a truly great vision document. This renewed 

vision is a reflection of the dedication of 

Service employees, conservation partners, 

Friends, and all others to the future of 

the National Wildlife Refuge System. In 

addition, a special thank you to the National 

Wildlife Refuge Association and Association 

of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AWFA) 

for their support throughout the process.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also 

recognizes over 10,000 individuals who 

commented on the renewed vision for the 

National Wildlife Refuge System and the 

thousands of members of the social network 

at www.AmericasWildlife.org. 
Relevance to a Changing America Core Team

Leadership and Organizational Excellence Core Team

Refuge System Vision Process and Conference Staff

 Rebekah Martin – Vision Process and Conference Coordinator

Michael Gale – Vision Communications Coordinator

Conserving the Future Fellows

Dorothy Amatucci

Ben Bisbach

Heather Jerue

John Knox

Emily Loew

Ryan Strom

Magdalena Tsiongas 

* Denotes Chair or Co-Chair

**Denotes main authors, although Core Teams members 

 provided extensive review and editing

*Robyn Thorson

*Wendi Weber

Barry Stieglitz

Bridget Fahey

Christopher Weber

**Cynthia Martinez

David Ellis

Karen Leggett

Kristin Reakoff

Lamar Gore

Matthew Huggler

Sharon Marino

Sharon Vaughn

**Tom Worthington

Vicki Muller

*Geoff Haskett

*Noreen Walsh

Bud Oliveira

David Viker

Jimmy Laurent

Joe D’Arrigo

Jose Viramontes

Kofi Fynn-Aikins

Marianne Aplin

Marilyn Kitchell

Matt Hogan

Molly Comstock

Nikki Randolph

Rob Peloquin

Rollie Jacobs

Shannon Smith

Sylvia Pelizza

**Will Meeks 

Conference & Report Steering Committee

Conservation Planning and Design Core Team

Conservation Delivery Core Team

Conservation Science Core Team

*Gregory Siekaniec 

Aaron Archibeque

Barbara Boyle

David Lucas 

Evan Hirsche

Hannibal Bolton

Janet Ertel

Jim Kurth

John Kennedy

Jose Viramontes 

Larry Williams

Marge Kolar

Mark Musaus

Rick Coleman

Robin West

**Scott Kahan 

Teiko Saito

**Tom Worthington

*Marvin Moriarty 

*Jay Slack

David Drescher

David Lucas

**Deborah Rocque

Delissa Padilla 

Ellen VanGelder

Heather Johnson

Joe McCauley

Kathryn Owens

Kelly McDowell

Mary Stefanski

Noah Kahn

Paul Heimowitz

Raul Molina

Susan Adamowicz

Tracy Fischbach 

*Benjamin Tuggle 

*Jerome Ford 

Bruce Woods

Carol Damberg

Cathy Henry

Gabriela Chavarria

Grant Harris

Heather Abbey

Janet Ertel

Jill Webster

John Morton

Khem So

**Mark Chase

Michael Estey

Mike Coffey

Tom LaPointe

*Tom Melius 

*Bryan Arroyo 

Andy Loranger

Brian Salem

Charlie Stenvall

Janis Nepshinsky

**Jeff Rupert

John Blitch

John Segar

Kelly Purkey

Kipp Morrill

Marcia Pradines

Natoma Buskness

Pepper Trail

**Scott Kahan

Sherry Barrett

Susan Guiteras

84 Acknowledgements Conserving the Future 85
86 Vision Map Conserving the Future 87
Photo Credits

Cover: (main) Gail Diane Yovanovich, c/o NWRA. Sandhill 

Cranes roost in the sunset at Bosque Del Apache National 

Wildlife Refuge. (top) Nick Miller, Creative Commons.

Prairie Violet at Neal Smith NWR. (middle) USFWS. 

Minnesota Valley Partner School Students birding. 

(bottom) Roger Baker, USFWS. Greater Sandhill Crane at 

Malheur NWR. 

Page 2: Dave Menke, USFWS. Wetland scene at Lower 

Klamath NWR.

Page 4: Evan Hirsche, NWRA. A view of Crystal Springs 

on Ash Meadows NWR.

Page 6: Albert Lavallee, c/o NWRA. Collared lizard at 

Wichita Mountains NWR.

Page 8: Doug Staller, USFWS. The shack of Aldo Leopold.

Page 9: The cover of Fulfilling the Promise.

Page 10-11: USFWS. Black skimmers at J.N. “Ding” 

Darling NWR.

Page 10: Janelle Siekaniec, USFWS. Greg Siekaniec 

hunting on a Waterfowl Production Area.

Page 11: Steve Greer, c/o NWRA. American oystercatcher 

feeding her young chick.

Page 12: George Gentry, USFWS. Pintail duck drake at 

Baskett Slough NWR.

Page 13: Carole Robertson, c/o NWRA. Tree frog on a 

flower at St. Marks NWR.

Page 14: USFWS. Ernest Greenwalt, refuge manager at 

Wichita NWR near Cache, Oklahoma, uses portable radio 

in 1948. Toni Westland, refuge manager at J.N. “Ding” 

Darling NWR sends a text with a volunteer and energy 

efficient vehicle. (top)

Page 14: USFWS. Warden Paul Kroegel, with pelican on 

Pelican Island.

Page 15: USFWS. Ira Gabrielson, first director of the Fish 

and Wildlife Service, aiding in a migratory waterfowl 

survey. Recovery efforts for pelicans after Deepwater 

Horizon oil spoil. (bottom)

Page 15: Greg Stutzer, USFWS. Shannon Smith, refuge manager 

at Kaua’i National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Hawaii. 

Page 16-17: Lyza Danger, Creative Commons. View of the 

sky entitled “Blue and White” at Malheur NWR.

Page 16: (top) Nick Miller, Creative Commons. Prairie 

violet at Neal Smith NWR. (bottom) USFWS. Minnesota 

Valley Partner School Students Birding. 

Page 17: Roger Baker, USFWS. Greater Sandhill Crane at 

Malheur NWR. 

Page 18: Keenen Adams, USFWS. Boardwalk at Pelican 

Island NWR.

Page 19: USFWS. Warden Paul Kroegel, with pelican on 

Pelican Island.

Page 20: Rick Keen, USFWS. A buck at the Rocky 

Mountain Arsenal NWR.

Page 21: USFWS. Artwork from 2010 Migratory Bird 

Hunting and Conservation Stamp, artist James Hautman.

Page 22-23: Ian Shive. Boardwalk at Don Edwards NWR.

Page 22: USFWS. A heron at the USGS National 

Wetlands Research Center in Louisiana. 

Page 23: Sandra Noll, c/o NWRA. Moose and Calf in 

Kenai NWR in Alaska. 

Page 24-25: Kathleen Schleener, USFWS. Visitor in an 

all-terrain wheelchair.

Page 24: Roger Smith, c/o NWRA. Sky glowing behind 

cypress trees in Noxubee NWR.

Page 25: USFWS. Spider web. 

Page 27: V. Adams, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. 

Kitchen Creek drains into Caddo Lake just north of Caddo 

Lake NWR. 

88 Photo Credits Conserving the Future 89
Page 28: William Radke, USFWS. Wetlands near Leslie 

Canyon NWR. 

Page 29: Nick Miller, Creative Commons. Prairie violet at 

Neal Smith NWR. 

Page 30-31: USFWS. Partners for Fish and Wildlife 

Program staff meet with individual private landowners.

Page 30: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS. Bayou Sauvage 

officers working with Louisiana Wildlife officers.

Page 32-33: Karyn Rode, USFWS. Biologist tranquilizes 

polar bear near Arctic NWR.

Page 32: USFWS. Child holding a duck.

Page 33: USFWS. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist 

collects data on fawn.

Page 34-35: Ian Shive. Visitor log-in book at GuadalupeNipomo Dunes NWR.

Page 34: USFWS. Lake Reddington beaver lodge at 

Patuxent NWR.

Page 36-37: USFWS. Solar panels on Necedah NWR 

Visitors Center.

Page 37: James Watt, USFWS. Papahānaumokuākea 

MNM French Frigate Shoals.

Page 38-39: USFWS. Brown boobies atop pier posts at 

Johnston Atoll NWR.

Page 38: George Gentry, USFWS. Fish and Wildlife 

Service worker driving large equipment at J.N. “Ding” 

Darling NWR.

Page 39: USFWS. Loggerhead sea turtle at Wassaw NWR.

Page 40-41: USFWS. Birds in flight at Klamath NWR.

Page 41: USFWS. Bald eagle.

Page 42-43: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS. Volunteers work 

hard to plant marsh grass at Big Branch Marsh NWR.

Page 42: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS. Young woman plants 

marsh grass in the mud at Big Branch Marsh NWR.

Page 44-45: USFWS. Bison at the National Bison Range 

in Montana.

Page 44: USFWS. Brown bear fishing at Kodiak NWR.

Page 45: USFWS. Prescribed fire at Charles M. Russell NWR.

Page 46-47: USFWS. Piping plover on beach.

Page 46: Tom Koerner, USFWS. A silvery blue butterfly 

feeds on a milk vetch plant in the Dakota Grassland 

Conservation Area. 

Page 47: Jenny Ericson, USFWS. American crocodile at 

J.N. “Ding” Darling NWR.

Page 48-49: Ian Shive. The dunes at Guadalupe-Nipomo 

Dunes NWR.

Page 48: Jim Besley, USFWS. Fish and Wildlife Service 

employee and volunteer working with a GPS device at

Cache River NWR.

Page 50-51: Gary Eslinger, USFWS. J. Clark Salyer NWR.

Page 52: Stephanie Raine, USFWS. Fishing day at Rocky 

Mountain Arsenal NWR.

Page 53: USFWS. Minnesota Valley Partner School 

Students birding.

Page 54-55: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS. Mountain Lake at 

Togiak NWR.

Page 54: Jerry D. McDonnell. Volunteers from Friends of 

Alaska NWR celebrate a successful weed pull. 

Page 56-57: Lou Kellenberger. “Nature’s Classroom” 

environmental education building at St. Marks NWR.

Page 57: USFWS. John Heinz NWR, with Philadelphia in 

the background.

Page 58-59: Lamar Gore, USFWS. Kayaking at Rachel 

Carson NWR in Maine.

Page 58: Carl Zitsman, USFWS. Children and an adult 

fishing in West Virginia.

Page 60-61: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS. Visitors on a 

trolley at Santa Ana NWR.

90 Photo Credits Conserving the Future 91
Page 60: USFWS. USFWS Director Dan Ashe “tweeting” 

from a social media station with a youth volunteer at the 

Conserving the Future conference.

Page 61: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS. Wildlife 

photographers at Cape Romain NWR.

Page 62-63: Chuck Lafferty, USFWS. Planting a 

pollinator garden at John Heinz NWR.

Page 63: Audra Haddock Martenot, USFWS. Members of 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Honor Guard.

Page 64-65: USFWS. Father and son hunting at sunset.

Page 65: USFWS. Fly fishing at Kenai NWR in Alaska.

Page 66-67: Elizabeth Kellenberger, c/o NWRA. Artist 

doing “plein air” painting by canal on a refuge.

Page 66: Jesse Barham, USFWS. Boardwalk at Nisqually NWR.

Page 68: Ian Shive. View of sunset at Guadalupe-Nipomo 

Dunes NWR.

Page 69: Roger Baker, USFWS. Greater Sandhill Crane at 

Malheur NWR.

Page 70-71: USFWS. Ash Meadows NWR in Nevada.

Page 70: Jim Williams, USFWS. Great Egret with chick.

Page 71: Ian Shive. Yellow flowers and a shed by the water 

at Don Edwards NWR.

Page 72-72: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS. The sunset over 

the Chincoteague NWR.

Page 72: Brandon Marling, c/o NWRA. A young prairie 

dog investigating what an adult prairie dog is eating.

Page 73: Mike Carpenter, USFWS. Spring wildflowers at 

the Sacramento NWRC.

Page 74-75: USFWS. Mt. Cleveland, Chuginadak Island.

Page 74: Cynthia Martinez, USFWS. Marcus Young 

working hard at Moapa NWR.

Page 76-77: Tom Koerner, USFWS. Dakota Grasslands 

Conservation Area.

Page 78-79: USFWS. Castle Rock in California.

Page 80-81: Ian Shive. Refuge manager looking at the 

stars in Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes NWR at night.

Page 82: Jim Burns, c/o NWRA. Sandhill Cranes at sunset 

in shallow water on the Bosque.

Page 86-87: Alchemy ©. Visual representation of the 

vision for the National Wildlife Refuge System in 

Conserving the Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next 

Generation and the content of the Conserving the Future 

Conference in Madison, Wisconsin from July 11-14, 2011.

This visual is designed to graphically capture the diverse 

concepts, constituencies, and ideas in the Conserving 

the Future vision. Achieving this renewed vision for the 

National Wildlife Refuge System will require breaking 

down the barriers to communication in our efforts to 

connect our visitors to the natural world on national 

wildlife refuges. Download this visual and other graphics 

from the Conserving the Future conference online at http://

www.AmericasWildlife.org/vision. Alchemy: The Art of 

Transforming Business is a business strategy consulting 

firm with graphic illustrators with offices in Denver and 

London. 

92 Photo Credits Conserving the Future 93