Centennial of wildlife refuges to be celebrated

Monday, Oct. 21, 2002 | 9:06 a.m.

Four national wildlife refuges within 100 miles of the Las Vegas Valley participated in the kickoff last week of celebrations of the 100th anniversary of wildlife conservation.

At the Desert National Wildlife Refuge officials had a small party to kick off a series of special events leading to the centennial celebration of wildlife refuges on March 14, 2003.

The event will be announced as they are scheduled.

The Desert National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Las Vegas is the largest unit in the system outside Alaska. It is 1.58 million acres, just over twice the size of the state of Rhode Island. It was created to protect desert bighorn sheep and their habitat.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is about 90 miles west of Las Vegas. It was created to protect more than 25 species of animals and plants found nowhere else in the world.

Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge is 93 miles north of Las Vegas and protects the Pacific flyway for migrating birds.

Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a series of warm springs being restored to protect an endangered fish, the Moapa dace.

President Theodore Roosevelt made Florida's Pelican Island a refuge for birds in 1903, making it the first wildlife refuge in the nation.

The system now covers 95 million acres.