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Earth Day, 2024
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier166706918
In honor of Earth Day, we’re exploring records of the National Wildlife Refuge System, found in Record Group 22: Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System began on March 14, 1904, when President Theodore Roosevelt established the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Since then the system has expanded to include more than 570 different refuges. These public lands include wildlife refuges, conservation areas, and marine national monuments.
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier 166706996
Administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(part of the Department of the Interior), the National Wildlife Refuge System maintains 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.” Read more about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at their website.
Bear Cubs at Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier 222096455
A search for photographs from the National Wildlife Refuge System reveals the variety of landscapes protected by the agency. Currently 95 million acres of land and 560 marine acres are under conservation.
The largest refuge is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with over 19 million acres, which include polar bears, grizzlies, and black bears, as well as moose, wolves, and otters.
WO5168 Caribou , Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier 166690242
Refuges exist in all 50 states (but not the District of Columbia) as well as several U.S. Territories. Rose Atoll in American Samoa is one of only two located south of the equator. It consists of 39,066 acres, only about 20 of which are land. The waters of the Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge contain coral reefs, giant clams, and reef sharks.
Rose Islet at Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier166701450
Rose Atoll is very remote and closed to the public, but most of the refuges are open to visitors and are much easier to get to, such as the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge in New Orleans. This habitat contains one of the last marsh areas adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain. Over 67 million people visit the refuges each year for recreation.
Lone Ibis in marsh, National Archives Identifier 166709884
As spring returns with warm weather and blue skies, it’s a good time to visit natural places. Interested in visiting a National Wildlife Refuge? You can search for a facility near you on their website.
Clockwise from upper left: Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier 166694650, Johnston Island National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier 166696620, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier 166692718,Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, National Archives Identifier 166696064
The National Archives Catalog contains descriptions of over 95% of the agency’s holdings at the series level. The Catalog currently contains more than 275 million digital objects (individual files of textual records, electronic records, sound records, moving images, photographs, and graphic materials), however, it is a small percentage of the more than 15 billion items held by the National Archives. If you’re only interested in records you can see online, there’s an easy way to filter your search.
On the left hand side of your search results, there’s a button labeled Available to access online. Click that button, and you’ll only see results with digital files attached to the description of the records.
If the records you’re interested in researching are not yet available online, you can contact the office that appears in the description. Simply scroll down until you find the section labeled Archived Copy, and you’ll find the contact information.
And remember, help is always available. Just click on Help to the right of the search bar.
Looking for information about updates to the Catalog?
New features of the Catalog are included on the Catalog Helppage (the link is found at the top of every Catalog page) and where appropriate, on the Get Started Transcribing page (found under the Resources link).
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Our newest Citizen Archivist mission is the Name Index to Criminal Cases from the District Courts of the United States. The index cards in this mission contain the name and alias of the defendant, the case number, and occasionally, the initials of the presiding judge. These cards are brief and typewritten, allowing citizen archivists to transcribe many records quickly.
Make History Hub your first stop! You can ask—or answer—questions on History Hub, or see if your question has already been answered! Check out our featured edition for more details, information, and instructions about using History Hub for your research.
