You may have a favorite National Park, but which is your favorite National Wildlife Refuge? This year, take virtual tours of National Wildlife Refuges all over the country and find out! The Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, assisted by their support group the Friends of Maine’s Seabird Islands, will be offering a series of lectures and films about different refuges. All events are at 6:30 pm at the Visitor Center at 9 Water Street, two blocks south of downtown Rockland. Admission is free.

Starting near home, the refuge managers from the National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in Maine will give slide show lectures about their respective refuges. First up will be William Kolodnicki discussing Moosehorn NWR on October 19^th followed by Steve Agius discussing Aroostook NWR on October 26^th. Beth Goettel will give an overview of Sunkhaze Meadows NWR on November 9th, and Ward Feurt will lead a virtual tour of Rachel Carson NWR on November 16^th.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world’s largest system of protected lands set aside specifically for wildlife. There are more than 560 national wildlife refuges, at least one in every state, and 38 wetland management districts. It holds and manages 1 50 million acres of land and water from the Caribbean to the Pacific, Maine to Alaska, plus more than 418 million acres of national marine monuments.  

National wildlife refuges provide habitat for more than 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species and more than 1,000 species of fish. More than 380 threatened or endangered plants or animals are protected on wildlife refuges. Each year, millions of migrating birds use refuges as stepping stones while they fly thousands of miles between their summer and winter homes.

For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfwsnortheast, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwsnortheast, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/usfwsnortheast.