It all began in 1903 when Florida´s three-and-a-half-acre Pelican Island became the first national wildlife refuge. The movement reached a milestone last October when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dedicated the 500th refuge – a Canada-like slice of West Virgina called Canaan Valley.

From valley wetlands 3,200 feet above sea level to mountain ridges nearly 1,000 feet higher, plants and animals typical of more northern ecosystems thrive. Canaan Valley snows are pocked with snowshoe hare prints. “We have cotton grass, a plant more common in Canada and Alaska”, says refuge manager Gail Baker.

The valley also sustains the threatened Cheat Mountain salamander and the endangered Virginia Northern flying squirrel. The service hopes the refuge will grow from its current 155 acres to some 20,000 acres with parchases from willing Sellers.

Sources: Oregon Lives

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