National Wildlife Refuge Week, Oct. 11-17, is a great way to celebrate the outdoors this year after spending months at home because of COVID-19 precautions.

National Wildlife Refuge Week celebrates all the ways to discover hunting, fishing, biking and paddling to trail running, photography, walking and virtual nature programs.

The National Wildlife Refuge System is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There are 11 refuges in the state, 10 of which are in eastern North Carolina.

Founded by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, national wildlife refuges offer access to outdoor activities while providing vital habitat for thousands of wildlife species. Nearly 60 million people visit refuges each year.

Special events traditionally mark National Wildlife Refuge Week, observed each year during the second full week of October.

Under the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the Service permits hunting and fishing along with four other types of wildlife-dependent recreation, including wildlife photography, environmental education, wildlife observation, and interpretation, when these activities are compatible with an individual refuge’s purpose and mission. There are new opportunities for hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges from coast to coast.

National wildlife refuges pump $3.2 billion per year into local economies and support more than 41,000 jobs, according to the Service’s report Banking on Nature.

President Trump on Tuesday signed into law a bipartisan bill that will tap energy revenues to address a $12 billion backlog of maintenance projects on federal lands, including more than $459 million in national parks in North Carolina.

Introduced in 2019 by the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the Great American Outdoors Act also makes funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund permanent. Earlier this year, the Trump administration had proposed significant cuts to the fund.

Republican 3^rd District Congressman Greg Murphy voted for the bill, which the House passed July 22.

Murphy’s office noted in a press release in July that Cape Hatteras National Seashore will receive $49,834,106, and Cape Lookout National Seashore will receive $27,718,515 as a result of the legislation.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund supports national forests, refuges and parks, including the Croatan National Forest, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge, Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

The bill establishes the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund to support deferred maintenance projects on federal lands. For the next five years, an amount equal to half of energy development revenues from oil, gas, coal and alternative or renewable energy development on federal lands and waters is to be deposited into the fund, up to $1.9 billion for any year.

The fund must be used for priority deferred maintenance projects in specified systems that are administered by the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Education.

Interior Secretary David L. Bernhardt announced Tuesday that entrance fees paid by those visiting lands managed by the department would be waived Wednesday. Bernhardt also announced that Aug. 4 will be designated “Great American Outdoors Day,” a fee-free day each year to commemorate the signing of the act. Fees such as camping and cabin rentals and others will remain in effect.

Entrance fees to national wildlife refuges, including those in North Carolina, are temporarily suspended.

The U.S.  Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt put the hold on entrance fees until further notice.

“I’ve directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to waive entrance fees at national wildlife refuges that remain open. This small step makes it a little easier for the American public to enjoy the outdoors at these incredible places,” said Bernhardt. “Our vast public lands that are overseen by the Department offer special outdoor experiences to recreate, embrace nature and implement some social distancing.”

Outdoor spaces will remain open to the public at most refuges when possible to adhere to public health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many facilities such as visitor centers will be closed.

“The health of our visitors is our number one priority,” said Service Director Aurelia Skipwith. “When CDC guidance is followed, a national wildlife refuge can be the perfect antidote to cabin fever and a boon to our mental well-being during this unprecedented time.”

Officials urged visitors to follow CDC guidance while visiting refuges. Updates about the response to the coronavirus will be posted online.

Fish and Wildlife Service officials recommend check the refuge’s website before visiting. The following is a list of refuges in North Carolina:

• Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge 
• Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge 
• Currituck National Wildlife Refuge 
• Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
• Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge 
• Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge
• Mountain Bogs National Wildlife Refuge
• Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
• Pee Dee National Refuge and Conservation Area
• Pocosin Lakes National Refuge
• Roanoke River National Refuge and Conservation Area
• Swan Quarter National Refuge and Conservation Area

CARTERET COUNTY – The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust has transferred most of a recently purchased 5,400-acre tract to the state Wildlife Resources Commission to be used as public game lands.

The trust this month purchased the tract along Salters Creek that is adjacent to the Cedar Island National Refuge from the Trustees of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor in the City of New York, a nonprofit corporation.

“This property represents the best of what is left Down East in terms of relatively pristine natural areas,” Janice Allen, deputy director of the Coastal Land Trust, said in a statement.

Of the more than 5,400 acres, the Coastal Land Trust transferred 5,170 acres of the property to the Wildlife Resources Commission and will retain the remaining 311 acres to be managed as a nature preserve.

“We are extremely excited about this large acquisition,” said Brian McRae, Land and Water Access Section Chief for the Commission. “This property will provide tremendous opportunities for birding as well as hunting for deer, bear, turkey and small game.”

The tract has been designated by National Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area and provides habitat for 23 rare plant and animal species including the black rail, a small marsh bird that has been proposed for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act, according to the Coastal Land Trust.

In addition to adjoining the 14,494-acre Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge, the property is across Long Bay from the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point’s 11,000-acre Piney Island Bombing Range in Carteret County, according to the Land Trust.

The Department of Defense provided funds to purchase for the property a restrictive easement, which prohibits incompatible development of the property that might compromise the safety of pilots and crew who fly over the property for training missions.

“The goals of the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program are certainly met with this easement,” Col. Todd Ferry, Commanding Officer, MCAS Cherry Point, said in the release.”Through our partnership with the Coastal Land Trust and the State of North Carolina, we have shared the burden of protecting this strategic property which will help us sustain training capabilities at Piney Island for future generations.”

Walter Clark, executive director of North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund, explained that the acquisition of the Salters Creek Landing property touches on several critical objectives of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

“Conservation of the property, which is classified as an exceptional Atlantic Natural Area, protects 17 miles stream buffer and 4,285 acres of wetland. Additionally, the acquisition protects North Carolina’s military mission which is so important to national defense and North Carolina’s economy. And finally, much of the property will be open for public use as North Carolina Wildlife Commission game land,” he said.

North Carolina Coastal Land Trust partnered with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the U.S. Marine Corps, with the support of eight partnering organizations and funders, starting with a grant from a private philanthropist for a long-term option on the property. The Coastal Land Trust also worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Act program, , Enviva Forest Conservation Fund, Duke Energy’s Water Resources Fund, and the North Carolina Native Plant Society to secure funding.

“The Coastal Land Trust is grateful to all the participating grant-making agencies, individuals and funders,” said Ms. Allen, “for their investments in this amazing conservation project.”