[close] Brilliant color photos and fluid text explore the history, diverse wildlife, and stunning landscapes of America's refuges From the cypress swamps of Okefenokee to the marshes of San Francisco Bay and pristine seclusion of Alaska's ANWR preserve, America's most treasured natural habitats have been protected as National Wildlife Refuges for one hundred years. Initiated in 1903 when Theodore Roosevelt signed a proclamation preserving Florida's Pelican Island as the first of 538 National Wildlife Refuges, they now occupy an incredible 95 million acres of the American landscape.

Linking his text with the stunning photographs of John and Karen Hollingsworth, Eric Dolin draws on the rich history surrounding the refuges to reveal an interconnected story of people and nature. Dolin explores how the fledgling conservation movement found in Teddy Roosevelt a champion who set in motion one of the greatest conservation movements the world has ever seen. Following his lead, seventeen U.S. presidents—against a backdrop of two world wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War—signed proclamations, resulting today in an incredibly diverse and biologically rich refuge system that helped earn the United States its reputation as a leader in global conservation. [close]