The National Wildlife Refuge System is one of the most unique and unmatched collections of public land in the world.
Many refuges are close to urban areas and almost every part of the country has a refuge nearby.
Here are just a few facts that make refuges interesting and unique. Superimposed over the Lower 48 States, the 3.6 million acres of islands in Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge would stretch from California to Florida. North Dakota has the most refuges, followed by California, then Florida. The Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska in Alaska Maritime NWR were seized by Japan in World War II, the only U.S. lands controlled by a foreign power since the War of 1812. Oil found on Kenai NWR in 1957 gave impetus to Alaska statehood in 1959.