#national wildlife refuge

[jadafitch]

Petit Manan Lighthouse, Petit Manan Island, Steuben. Possibly my favorite lighthouse. In the summer, this island is home to hundreds of birds. Including Atlantic puffins, arctic, common and roseate terns, as well as black guillemots and many more. Decided I couldn't draw them all, but here's a couple attempts to try and capture the island's vibes. Can you spot the oystercatchers? MERCH

[thomaswaynewolf]

[wandering-jana]

Assateague Lighthouse.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia

2021

[dwmmphotography]

It is Scavenger Sunday and this northern raven would like you to know there is nothing of interest in this tree at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

[newbirder]

A Bald Eagle surveys the landscape at a Louisiana national wildlife refuge.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

You have NO IDEA HOW HAPPY THIS MAKES ME!!!!!! Willapa NWR is my "home refuge", so to speak. I've volunteered there for hours, spent a ton of time walking the trails, and it is incredibly dear to me. They're already protecting and restoring thousands of acres of land, from tidal wetlands to old-growth forests to dune habitat and more. This funding approval means that Willapa NWR will receive $1,255,248 to acquire 239 acres of land for the purpose of preserving waterfowl and other wildlife habitat.

Habitat loss is THE single biggest cause of species endangerment and extinction, so the more we're able to protect, the better--especially if we can create wildlife corridors between sections. Biodiverse ecosystems also have a better chance of weathering the effects of climate change.

Along with the habitat acquired for Willapa NWR, funding was also approved to purchase land for other Refuges:

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana – $1,466,000 to acquire 548 acres.

Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge in Kentucky – $6,621,000 to acquire 2,482 acres.

Green River National Wildlife Refuge in Kentucky – $11,372,000 to acquire 1,335 acres.

Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in New Hampshire – $1,066,450 to acquire 797 acres.

The funding was acquired through the sales of Federal Duck Stamps; 98% of the money from these stamps goes into purchasing and maintaining Refuge lands. While these were originally created to raise funds for waterfowl land by requiring waterfowl hunters to buy a stamp with their license each year, anyone can buy a Duck Stamp. There are lots of non-hunting collectors who buy them for the art, and the annual art contest draws talent from across the country. The Junior Duck Stamp Program allows young artists K-12 to enter their own contest while also learning about conservation. (It also was the topic of one of my more infamous posts here on Tumblr!)

[inthecityofgoodabode]

October 2024: The First Week

I wish this image was just a little sharper because the subject posed perfectly:

Saturday's harvest from the front yard volunteers:

We drove across the bridge into Arkansas in search of fish. This was our first stop. The water looked fishy but nothing was biting:

A mystery at the edge of some flooded hardwood bottomland:

We spent the rest of the day hitting different little ponds along the highway back to Memphis. We caught some fish... bluegill, pumpkinseeds & a couple of crappie but all were too small to bring home.

The last pond we fished. The yellow decoy duck in the background that someone chunked in the pond is a nice touch:

Reflection in the rear window of a 24 year old:

Sunday harvest:

I wished I could have gotten closer to this warbler who stopped off in our backyard on its migration:

[knottybearnature]

February 15, 2025

Turkey Vulture

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, TX

The fog added so much magic to this adventure.

[cuprikorn]

[icelynodette]

Homeschool Day Ankeny Hill Nature Center 2024

[hope-for-the-planet]

From the article:

The Department of the Interior today announced that the Bureau of Land Management received no bids for the congressionally mandated oil and gas lease sale for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Arctic Refuge). The deadline to submit bids was Monday, January 6. [...] “The lack of interest from oil companies in development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reflects what we and they have known all along – there are some places too special and sacred to put at risk with oil and gas drilling. This proposal was misguided in 2017, and it’s misguided now,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis.

This is the second time that the lease sale for this area has fallen through. The writing is on the wall that investments like this have an expiration date as the world transitions to clean energy due to economics and public opinion.

[ambermaitrejean]

August in Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Commerce City, Colorado. Photos by Amber Maitrejean

[admiralgiggles]

An ode to sunset

Sometimes I have to break my own arbitrary rules.

[wandering-jana]

Sika deer are native to East Asia. They are small and keep their spots throughout their lives. They were introduced to the eastern United States. Today, they can be found on Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia. I found this lady in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia.

Check out Chincoteague:

[jadafitch]

Matinicus Rock Light, Penobscot Bay, Matinicus, Maine. Hunting and eating puffins was common practice in Maine over 100 years ago. The first lighthouse keepers on the rock were also wardens, hired by The American Ornithologists Union. They were tasked with protecting The United State's last remaining pair of Atlantic puffins, as well as many other commonly hunted seabird species. Today, Matinicus Rock is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and is cooperatively managed by the National Audubon Society and MCINWR. Thanks to their work and the work of Project Puffin, there are over 500 pairs of nesting puffins, plus 400 pairs of razorbills, 1,000 pairs of terns, about 700 pairs of laughing gulls, and more.

[rafefar]

Red-tailed hawk

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge