The Northeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has posted a set of photos on Flickr showing the impact of Hurricane Sandy around the refuges of the Northeast. Lots of work to be done by the Service and the refuge volunteers.

Some early reports from national wildlife refuges that were in the path of Hurricane Sandy:
Pea Island NWR, NC: N.C. 12 on Pea Island - Crews are clearing sand and water on N.C. 12 on Pea Island. The highway experienced significant overwash and flooding in this area during the storm.
Blackwater NWR, MD: Closed October 30-31. Received [...]

Dubois-Pike County News reports that Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana has grown by 1,043 acres:

Acquisition of this land has been a top priority for the managers of Patoka River NWR for over five years, but a deal failed to materialize. Peabody Energy ultimately agreed to sell the property to Sycamore Land Trust, who [...]

The Berlin Daily Sun reports that Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge in New Hampshire/Maine has grown by 4,532 acres:

The land protected today has critical wildlife habitat for moose, deer, bear and a variety of waterfowl species and there are 11.5 miles of trout streams, all of which flow into the Androscoggin River forming one of the [...]

WPTV.com recently reported on a public hearing in West Palm Beach regarding a plan to allow alligator hunting at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida:

About 100 people showed up to give opinions on a proposal by the refuge to issue 11 permits in 2013 for hunters to kill two of the giant reptiles each, for [...]

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recently dedicated the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge in Albuquerque, New Mexico, making it the first urban refuge in the Southwest and one of a handful across the nation. In addition, Salazar also traveled to Wind River Ranch near Mora, N.M. for a signing ceremony establishing the Rio [...]

Robert Steiner, an artist from San Francisco, California, is the winner of the 2012 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. The announcement was made by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Director Rowan Gould at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, during the annual art contest – the only juried art competition sponsored by the [...]