Today is National Public Lands Day — an annual event that is a program of the National Environmental Education Foundation, which promotes volunteerism on all publicly accessible lands at the federal, state, and local levels.
As part of this year’s celebration, one million trees have been planted to honor the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation [...]

Today is the first day of sale for the 2008-2009 Duck Stamp — or Migratory Bird Stamp.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife artist Joe Hautman of Plymouth, Minnesota, won the 75th Anniversary Federal Duck Stamp Contest — the oldest and most prestigious wildlife art competition in America in Sanibel, Florida with [...]

National Fishing and Boating Week is June 1 - 8. During this celebration, most states waive fishing license requirements for one or two days during the week, and more than 270 national wildlife refuges and wetland management districts offer a variety of fishing opportunities throughout the country.
Check out the USFWS press release for National [...]

May 10, 2008 is the annual celebration of International Migratory Bird Day, and this year’s theme is “Tundra to Tropics: Connecting Birds, Habitats, and People.”
According to the IMBD website:

IMBD was created in 1993 by visionaries at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. From 1995 to 2006, the program was [...]

Back in 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated by more than 20 million people across the country, and today the event is still used to generate awareness about the state of our environment.
Visit the Earth Day page on the National Wildlife Refuge System website for a listing of some of the many events being [...]

The National Wildlife Refuge Association has announced the winners of the 2008 Refuge Photo Contest, which showcases the creatures and beauty of America’s national wildlife refuges.
This is the NWRA’s third annual photo contest, and more than 2,000 images from over 150 refuges in 45 states and territories were submitted for prizes during the contest period [...]

The National Wildlife Refuge Association and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have announced the winners of the 2008 National Wildlife Refuge System Awards.

Paul Kroegel Refuge Manager of the Year Award: Kevin Brennan, Fergus Falls Wetland Management District, Minnesota
Refuge System Employee of the Year: Clyde Morris, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California
Volunteer [...]

In 2007, the Big Turnaround Complex wildfires affected approximately 400,000 acres of land, three-fourths of it inside Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which is in southern Georgia. The fire was the most expensive wildfire ever for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was the largest Service fire ever to occur outside of Alaska.
Okefenokee NWR, which [...]

On Sunday, the Toledo Blade featured a wonderful editorial highlighting the upcoming Annual Christmas Bird Count.
As Blade columnist Steve Pollick explains:
What is billed as the longest running wildlife census in the world, the annual Christmas Bird Count of the National Audubon Society, is to be conducted across much of the Western Hemisphere between Dec. [...]

Back in October, I posted an announcement regarding the National Wildlife Refuge Association 3rd Annual Refuge Photography Contest. This is just a reminder that the contest deadline is December 15, 2007. Results will be announced in March 2008, which marks the 105th anniversary of the establishment of the first national wildlife refuge — Pelican Island [...]