This blog will be on hiatus for the next four weeks. To follow news on the National Wildlife Refuge System, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Social Media Center.

The Politico reports that GOP voters are finally acknowledging that House Republican budget cuts are on track to threaten the wildlife and land resources that Republican-leaning hunters and anglers hold dear.

As the Republican leaders no doubt know, this is not a crowd to mess with. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation estimates that nearly eight in 10 [...]

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge near Olympia restores saltwater marsh, builds viewing boardwalk

Cottontail rabbit gets a hand at Rachel Carson NWR

Honey Prairie Fire has little swamp left to burn

‘Workamping’ gives outdoors enthusiasts seasonal jobs at parks and refuges

Refuge Ramble aims to get people of all ages out to explore nature

The new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently made some of his first public comments since assuming his new position. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Director Dan Ashe, who was attending the Outdoor Writers Association of America Conference at Snowbird, expressed concerns over the budget cutting proposals put forth by House [...]

The Wisconsin State Journal proudly proclaimed in its paper that the National Wildlife Refuge System will be holding its “Vision Conference” in Madison, Wisconsin this coming week.

Hundreds of professional and citizen conservationists will be in Madison next week to help finalize a new vision for the country’s 553 national wildlife refuges.
The refuge system holds a [...]

Revised wilderness plan for Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge draws 25,000 comments

Okefenokee NWR Fire Still Growing

Florida panther faces new danger: Its growing fearlessness

US Fish and Wildlife Service proposes more hunting in wildlife refuges

The Portland Press Herald is reporting that a 97-acre parcel of conservation land — slated for addition to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine — could be lost if officials and conservationists can’t raise the remaining $1.6 million needed to acquire the land.

The Ewing family, which owns the 110 acres of land known [...]

The Island Free Press in North Carolina is reporting that the Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Refuge Association, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, have filed suit to stop the Bonner Bridge replacement at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
As this blog reported on December 20, [...]

Dan Ashe has been confirmed as the 16th Director the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency Ashe has served in for more than 15 years.
Ashe was nominated on December 3, 2010, but Republicans upheld his confirmation as they attempted to use his position as a pawn in their battles over deepwater drilling permits in [...]

The Friends of Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan have a wonderful Flickr account that you can visit for charming photos such as this one — showing a piping plover chick in the process of being banded at the refuge.