III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 288 

Designating the week beginning October 9, 2011, as ‘‘National Wildlife 

Refuge Week’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 6, 2011 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mrs. 

MURRAY, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. REED, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts, 

Ms. COLLINS, Mr. COCHRAN, and Mr. MERKLEY) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating the week beginning October 9, 2011, as 

‘‘National Wildlife Refuge Week’’. 

Whereas in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt established 

the first national wildlife refuge on Florida’s Pelican Island; 

Whereas in 2011, the National Wildlife Refuge System, administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, is the premier system of lands and waters to conserve wildlife in 

the world, and has grown to more than 150,000,000 

acres, 553 national wildlife refuges, and 38 wetland management districts in every State and territory of the 

United States; 


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Whereas national wildlife refuges are important recreational 

and tourism destinations in communities across the Nation, and these protected lands offer a variety of recreational opportunities, including 6 wildlife-dependent 

uses that the National Wildlife Refuge System manages: 

hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photography, environmental education, and interpretation; 

Whereas more than 370 units of the National Wildlife Refuge 

System have hunting programs and more than 350 units 

of the National Wildlife Refuge System have fishing programs, averaging more than 2,500,000 hunting visits and 

more than 7,100,000 fishing visits; 

Whereas the National Wildlife Refuge System experiences 

28,200,000 wildlife observation visits annually; 

Whereas national wildlife refuges are important to local businesses and gateway communities; 

Whereas for every $1 appropriated, national wildlife refuges 

generate $4 in economic activity; 

Whereas the National Wildlife Refuge System experiences approximately 45,700,000 visits every year, generating 

nearly $1,700,000,000 and 27,000 jobs in local economies; 

Whereas the National Wildlife Refuge System encompasses 

every kind of ecosystem in the United States, including 

temperate, tropical, and boreal forests, wetlands, deserts, 

grasslands, arctic tundras, and remote islands, and spans 

12 time zones from the Virgin Islands to Guam; 

Whereas national wildlife refuges are home to more than 700 

species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 species of 

reptiles and amphibians, and more than 1,000 species of 

fish; 


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Whereas national wildlife refuges are the primary Federal 

lands that foster production, migration, and wintering 

habitat for waterfowl; 

Whereas since 1934, more than $750,000,000 in funds, from 

the sale of the Federal Duck Stamp to outdoor enthusiasts, has enabled the purchase or lease of more than 

5,300,000 acres of waterfowl habitat in the National 

Wildlife Refuge System; 

Whereas 59 refuges were established specifically to protect 

imperiled species, and of the more than 1,300 federally 

listed threatened and endangered species in the United 

States, 280 species are found on units of the National 

Wildlife Refuge System; 

Whereas national wildlife refuges are cores of conservation 

for larger landscapes and resources for other agencies of 

the Federal Government and State governments, private 

landowners, and organizations in their efforts to secure 

the wildlife heritage of the United States; 

Whereas 39,000 volunteers and more than 220 national wildlife refuge ‘‘Friends’’ organizations contribute nearly 

1,400,000 hours annually, the equivalent of 665 full-time 

employees, and provide an important link with local communities; 

Whereas national wildlife refuges provide an important opportunity for children to discover and gain a greater appreciation for the natural world; 

Whereas because there are national wildlife refuges located in 

several urban and suburban areas and 1 refuge located 

within an hour’s drive of every metropolitan area in the 

United States, national wildlife refuges employ, educate, 

and engage young people from all backgrounds in explorVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:02 Oct 07, 2011 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR288.ATS SR288

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ing, connecting with, and preserving the natural heritage 

of the Nation; 

Whereas since 1995, refuges across the Nation have held festivals, educational programs, guided tours, and other 

events to celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week during 

the second full week of October; 

Whereas the Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to seek 

stakeholder input on the implementation of the recommendations in the document entitled ‘‘Conserving the 

Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next Generation’’, 

which is an update to the strategic plan of the Fish and 

Wildlife Service for the future of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System; 

Whereas the week beginning on October 9, 2011, has been 

designated as ‘‘National Wildlife Refuge Week’’ by the 

Fish and Wildlife Service; 

Whereas in 2011, the designation of National Wildlife Refuge 

Week would recognize more than a century of conservation in the United States and would serve to raise awareness about the importance of wildlife and the National 

Wildlife Refuge System and to celebrate the myriad recreational opportunities available to enjoy this network of 

protected lands: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates the week beginning on October 

3 9, 2011, as ‘‘National Wildlife Refuge Week’’; 

4 (2) encourages the observance of National Wild5 life Refuge Week with appropriate events and activi6 ties; 


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1 (3) acknowledges the importance of national 

2 wildlife refuges for their recreational opportunities 

3 and contribution to local economies across the 

4 United States; 

5 (4) pronounces that national wildlife refuges 

6 play a vital role in securing the hunting and fishing 

7 heritage of the United States for future generations; 

8 (5) identifies the significance of national wild9 life refuges in advancing the traditions of wildlife ob10 servation, photography, environmental education, 

11 and interpretation; 

12 (6) recognizes the importance of national wild13 life refuges to wildlife conservation and the protec14 tion of imperiled species and ecosystems, as well as 

15 compatible uses; 

16 (7) acknowledges the role of national wildlife 

17 refuges in conserving waterfowl and waterfowl habi18 tat pursuant to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (40 

19 Stat. 755, chapter 128); 

20 (8) reaffirms the support of the Senate for 

21 wildlife conservation and the National Wildlife Ref22 uge System; and 

23 (9) expresses the intent of the Senate— 

24 (A) to continue working to conserve wild25 life; and 


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1 (B) to manage the National Wildlife Ref2 uge System for current and future generations. 

Æ 


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