In Need of Refuge

Noah Matson — Thu, 13 Mar 2003 20:00:32 +0000

540 — number of national wildlife refuges in the U.S.¹
95.3 million — size, in acres, of the refuge system²
19.3 million — size, in acres, of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge in the country³
0.6 — size, in acres, of Minnesota’s Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, the smallest refuge in the country⁴
20.7 million — acres of designated wilderness in the refuge system⁵
59 — number of refuges established to protect endangered species⁶
1.4 million — number of volunteer-hours contributed to refuges⁷
22 — percentage of all work on refuges done by volunteers⁸
8 million — acres of the refuge system invaded by invasive species⁹
675 — number of invasive species identified so far on national wildlife refuges¹⁰
2 billion — funding backlog, in dollars, of the refuge system¹¹
200 — approximate number of refuges with no on-site staff¹²
350 million — increase in refuge funding, in dollars per year, needed to fully fund the refuge system¹³
400.5 million — taxpayer portion of the cost, in dollars, of the Paul Brown Stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals¹⁴
327.8 million — cost of one C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft¹⁵

Sources:
1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, press release, 27 Feb 2003.
2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty.
3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty.
4. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty.
5. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty.
6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System.
7. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “2001 Volunteer Report” (pdf), July 2002.
8. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “2001 Volunteer Report” (pdf), July 2002.
9. National Wildlife Refuge Association, “Silent Invasion” (pdf), October 2002.
10. National Wildlife Refuge Association, “Silent Invasion” (pdf), October 2002.
11. Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, “Restoring America’s Wildlife Legacy” (pdf), 2001.
12. Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, “Restoring America’s Wildlife Legacy” (pdf), 2001.
13. Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, “Restoring America’s Wildlife Legacy” (pdf), 2001.
14. National Taxpayer’s Union, press release, 28 Feb 2001.
15. Center for Defense Information, “Fiscal Year 2004 Budget,” 03 Feb 2003.

Grist: Noah Matson