List of largest National Wildlife Refuges

Here is a list of the 67 largest National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...

s in the 50 United States. It includes all that are larger than 50,000 acres (200 km²), and excludes those in U.S. territories (also officially in the system). Acreage/Area includes water as well as land areas. Statistics are as of 30 September 2007. The eleven largest NWRs are all in the state of Alaska.

Name	State(s)	Acreage	Area: km²
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...	Alaska	19,286,482.30	78,049.62
Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge covering about in southwestern Alaska. It is the second-largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, only slightly smaller than the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is a coastal plain extending to the...	Alaska	19,162,416.50	77,547.55
Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge The Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge is a protected wetland area in the U.S. state of Alaska. It encompasses most of the Yukon Flats, a vast wetland area centered on the confluence of the Yukon River, Porcupine River, and Chandalar River...	Alaska	8,634,511.57	34,942.63
Togiak National Wildlife Refuge Togiak National Wildlife Refuge Dominated by the Ahklun Mountains in the north and the cold waters of Bristol Bay to the south, Togiak National Wildlife Refuge confronts the traveler with a kaleidoscope of landscapes. The natural forces that have shaped this land range from the violent and powerful to the geologically patient...	Alaska	4,102,537.38	16,602.38
Innoko National Wildlife Refuge Innoko National Wildlife Refuge The Innoko National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge in western Alaska in the United States. It consists of 3,850,481 acres of which 1,240,000 acres is designated a wilderness area. It is the fifth-largest National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. The refuge is administered from offices...	Alaska	3,850,481.05	15,582.34
Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge The Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska whose use is regulated as an ecological-protection measure. It stretches along the southern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, between the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge on its east and...	Alaska	3,563,489.83	14,420.93
Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge The Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge lies within the floodplain of the Koyukuk River, in a basin that extends from the Yukon River to the Purcell Mountains and the foothills of the Brooks Range...	Alaska	3,550,160.50	14,366.99
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of , of which is wilderness)...	Alaska	3,417,756.91	13,831.17
Selawik National Wildlife Refuge Selawik National Wildlife Refuge Selawik National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Alaska in the Waring Mountains was officially established in 1980 with the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act ....	Alaska	2,150,161.99	8,701.40
Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge in the Kodiak Archipelago in southwestern Alaska, United States....	Alaska	1,990,418.11	8,054.94
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Kenai National Wildlife Refuge The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a 1.92 million acre wildlife preserve located on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. The refuge was created in 1941 as the Kenai Moose Range, but in 1980 it was changed to its present status by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act...	Alaska	1,912,425.40	7,739.31
Desert National Wildlife Refuge Desert National Wildlife Refuge The Desert National Wildlife Range is a protected wildlife refuge, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located north of Las Vegas, Nevada, in northwestern Clark and southwestern Lincoln counties, with much of its land area lying within the southeastern section of the Nevada Test and...	Nevada	1,615,313.49	6,536.94
Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge The heart of Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge is a lowland basin of forests and wetlands that forms the floodplain of the meandering Nowitna River. The Refuge's climate is typically marked by light precipitation, mild winds, long, hard winters and short, relatively warm, summers...	Alaska	1,560,000.00	6,313.10
Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in central Alaska, United States. One of 16 refuges in Alaska, it was established in 1980 when Congress passed The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act ....	Alaska	1,430,160.17	5,787.65
Becharof National Wildlife Refuge Becharof National Wildlife Refuge Becharof National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutian Range of the Alaska Peninsula of southwestern Alaska. Becharof National Wildlife Refuge, which covers an area of , was established in 1980 to conserve major brown bears, salmon, migratory birds, caribou, marine birds,...	Alaska	1,200,059.57	4,856.47
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge surrounds Fort Peck Reservoir and at 1,100,000 acres is the largest refuge in Montana, United States. Created in 1936, the refuge was named after famed painter of the American West, Charles M. Russell...	Montana	915,294.22	3,704.06
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona in the United States. The refuge, established in 1939 to protect Desert Bighorn Sheep, is located along of the U.S.-Mexico border, and covers 860,010 acres — larger than the land area of the state...	Arizona	860,041.32	3,480.46
Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge is a dynamic landscape made up of forests, wetlands, tundra, lakes, mountains and glacial rivers bounded by the snowy peaks of the Alaska Range. This upper Tanana River valley has been called the "Tetlin Passage," because it serves as a major migratory route for...	Alaska	700,058.54	2,833.04
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge Kofa National Wildlife Refuge The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is located northeast of Yuma, Arizona, southeast of Quartzsite, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. The refuge, established in 1939 to protect Desert Bighorn Sheep, encompasses over of the Yuma Desert region of the Sonoran Desert...	Arizona	666,561.26	2,697.48
Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge The Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Nevada. A very small part extends northward into Oregon. It is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as the Nevada component of the Sheldon-Hart Mountain...	Nevada / Oregon	573,503.63	2,320.89
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 402,000 acre National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton, Ware, and Clinch Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. The refuge is administered from offices in Folkston, Georgia. The refuge was established in 1937 to protect...	Georgia / Florida	401,908.38	1,626.47
Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Izembek National Wildlife Refuge The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is the smallest of the National Wildlife Refuges located in the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies on the northwest coastal side of central Aleutians East Borough. Most of the refuge was designated as Wilderness in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands...	Alaska	311,075.78	1,258.88
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on Hart Mountain in southeastern Oregon, which protects more than and more than 300 species of wildlife, including pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mule deer, sage grouse, and redband trout...	Oregon	270,003.58	1,092.67
Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge	Hawaii	254,418.10	1,029.59
Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge The Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of New Mexico managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located in the Chihuahuan desert 20 miles north of Socorro, New Mexico...	New Mexico	229,673.57	929.46
Key West National Wildlife Refuge Key West National Wildlife Refuge The Key West National Wildlife Refuge is a 189,497 acre National Wildlife Refuge located in Monroe County, Florida, between Key West, Florida and the Dry Tortugas . Only 2,019 acres of land are above sea level, on several keys within the refuge. These keys are unpopulated and are also designated...	Florida	208,308.17	842.99
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is a . 261 river mile long National Wildlife Refuge located in and along the Upper Mississippi River. It runs from Wabasha, Minnesota in the north to Rock Island, Illinois in the south....	Wisconsin / Iowa / Minnesota / Illinois	208,143.53	842.33
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located roughly south of the town of Burns, Oregon. The refuge area is roughly T shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen, the left top at Malheur Lake and the right top at Harney Lake....	Oregon	187,126.94	757.28
Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge	Washington	161,485.93	653.51
White River National Wildlife Refuge White River National Wildlife Refuge The White River National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge located in Desha, Monroe, Phillips, and Arkansas counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service....	Arkansas	158,976.07	643.35
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge was established on March 14, 1984, to preserve and protect a unique wetland habitat type—the pocosin—and its associated wildlife species.The Refuge attracts visitors worldwide for its red wolf howling programs....	North Carolina	153,017.15	619.24
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge	Florida	143,953.77	582.56
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is an important U.S. National Wildlife Refuge on the Atlantic coast of Florida. It is also a 'gateway site' for the Great Florida Birding Trail.-Location and extent:...	Florida	139,189.40	563.28
Sabine National Wildlife Refuge Sabine National Wildlife Refuge Sabine National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in Cameron Parish in southwestern Louisiana. It is on Louisiana State Route 27, south of Hackberry and north of Holly Beach...	Louisiana	125,790.08	509.05
Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge The Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located in a region known as the 'Backcountry', which reaches from north of Marathon to north of Key West. It is along the north side of the Keys in that area that border the Gulf of Mexico...	Florida	117,720.63	476.40
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge provides of habitat for threatened and endangered plants and animals. The refuge was established in 1985.-Natural history:...	Arizona	117,107.16	473.92
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a 114,657 acre protected area situated on the southwest side of San Antonio Bay along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in parts of Aransas, Refugio, and Calhoun counties. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive...	Texas	114,657.05	464.00
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1974 to help protect and preserve a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp, a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina in the...	Virginia / North Carolina	111,202.81	450.02
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge The Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula in Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties, North Carolina. Its headquarters is located in Columbia, NC....	North Carolina	110,106.64	445.59
Seney National Wildlife Refuge Seney National Wildlife Refuge The Seney National Wildlife Refuge is a managed wetland in Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It has an area of 95,212 acres . It is bordered by M-28 and M-77. The nearest town of any size is Seney, Michigan...	Michigan	95,244.81	385.44
Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge The Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.Here, on the international border between the United States and Mexico, a host of nature's borders converge - climate, community, land form and geography...	Texas	90,441.09	366.00
Grasslands Wildlife Management Area Grasslands Wildlife Management Area Grasslands Wildlife Management Area lies within the San Joaquin River basin and supports the largest remaining block of wetlands in the Central Valley, containing of private wetlands and associated, and surrounding of state and federal lands...	California	89,012.27	360.22
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is the largest protected area of natural habitat left in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The refuge is located almost entirely in Cameron County, Texas , although a very small part of its northernmost point extends into southern Willacy County...	Texas	88,388.69	357.70
Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Lahontan Valley, near the community of Fallon, Nevada, sixty miles east of Reno.The Stillwater wetlands are well-known to birders, as this area has been designated a site of international importance by the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve...	Nevada	87,271.26	353.17
National Key Deer Refuge National Key Deer Refuge The National Key Deer Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located on Big Pine Key and No Name Key in the Florida Keys in Monroe County, Florida....	Florida	84,824.28	343.27
Baca National Wildlife Refuge Baca National Wildlife Refuge The Baca National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in southern Colorado. It is located on the lands of the Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4 near Crestone, Colorado in the San Luis Valley in southern Saguache and northern Alamosa counties, about northeast of the town...	Colorado	78,696.65	318.47
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Utah, established in 1927. Leased by the government from private property owners....	Utah	73,996.41	299.45
Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge The Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge is located in Madison, Tensas, and Franklin parishes in northeastern Louisiana, west of the city of Tallulah.-Wildlife and Habitat:...	Louisiana	73,169.36	296.11
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge Valentine National Wildlife Refuge Valentine National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of Nebraska and includes 19,131 acres . The refuge protects a portion of the largest remaining area of tall and mid grass prairie remaining in the U.S. Collectively known as the sand hills region of Nebraska, the dunes were the...	Nebraska	73,098.09	295.82
Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge	Florida	69,196.75	280.03
Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge The Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge is a 66,287 acre National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern South Carolina near Awendaw on South Carolina's only cape, Cape Romain. are designated as Class I Wilderness...	South Carolina	66,287.18	268.25
Cache River National Wildlife Refuge Cache River National Wildlife Refuge The Cache River National Wildlife Refuge is a 55,000 acre wildlife refuge in the state of Arkansas managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge is one of the Ramsar wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention signed in 1971...	Arkansas	66,164.82	267.76
Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is a remote refuge located in the high altitude of the Centennial Valley, in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Montana. Adjacent to Gallatin National Forest and near Yellowstone National Park, the refuge is an integral part of the Greater...	Montana	65,810.25	266.32
Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge The Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge is a 64,902.14 acre wildlife refuge located in south-central Arkansas in Ashley, Bradley, and Union counties. It is the world's largest green tree reservoir....	Arkansas	64,902.14	262.65
Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge is located in northwest Minnesota. Packs of wolves, moose, waterfowl, and 294 species of birds make this refuge a wildlife wonderland....	Minnesota	61,500.93	248.89
J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge is located along the Souris River in Bottineau and McHenry Counties in north-central North Dakota. The refuge of extends from the Manitoba border southward for approximately in an area which was once Glacial Lake Souris...	North Dakota	59,376.40	240.29
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge	Oklahoma	59,019.60	238.84
McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge	Texas	58,861.43	238.20
San Andres National Wildlife Refuge San Andres National Wildlife Refuge The San Andres National Wildlife Refuge is located in the southern San Andres Mountains of southcentral New Mexico, USA. The mountain range, which lies within the northernmost extension of the Chihuahuan Desert, rises to an elevation of 8,229 feet at San Andres peak...	New Mexico	57,215.48	231.54
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge , in southern Socorro County, New Mexico, is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It sits near the Rio Grande astride New Mexico Route 1, formerly U.S. Highway 85. The refuge was founded in 1939....	New Mexico	57,191.10	231.44
UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge is a 56,048 acre protected area that is located in central Montana, United States. The refuge, located at the extreme southernmost tip of Phillips County, is managed and bordered on three sides by the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and the Fort Peck...	Montana	56,049.56	226.82
Dakota Tallgrass Prairie Wildlife Management Area	South Dakota / North Dakota	55,850.29	226.02
Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge established in 1945 and located along the shores of the Tennessee River in West Tennessee where the empoundment of Kentucky Lake by the Tennessee Valley Authority has created a more-or-less permanent wetlands environment favored by...	Tennessee	51,359.46	207.84
Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located in southeastern Dixie and northwestern Levy counties on the western coast of Florida, approximately fifty miles southwest of the city of Gainesville.The wildlife refuge was...	Florida	51,030.32	206.51
Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge is a nature preserve in southeast Indiana, USA near Madison, Indiana. The refuge is the largest of Indiana's three, and is located in parts of Ripley, Jefferson, and Jennings counties....	Indiana	51,000.00	206.39
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge The Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife preserve operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service located in the Klamath Basin along a portion of the northern California and southern Oregon border near Klamath Falls, Oregon...	California / Oregon	50,912.68	206.04
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge The Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge is a federally protected wildlife refuge located within Hyde County, North Carolina, USA. North Carolina's largest natural lake, Lake Mattamuskeet, is located entirely within the National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has a total area of 50,173.93 acres...	North Carolina	50,173.93	203.05

See also