U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

National wildlife refuges

549 national wildlife refuges, 150 million acres together, from the Fish and Wildlife Service boundary layer. Refuges are managed for wildlife first. Most are open by day for wildlife watching, hunting and fishing under refuge rules, and few allow camping. Acreage here is measured from the published boundary and can differ from the refuge’s official figure.

Data refreshed September 17, 2026.

The five largest

  1. 1
    Mariana Trench National Wildlife Refuge
    USFWS · AK
    51 million acres
  2. 2
    Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
    USFWS · AK
    20 million acres
  3. 3
    Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
    USFWS · AK
    20 million acres
  4. 4
    Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge
    USFWS · AK
    9.0 million acres
  5. 5
    Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
    USFWS · AK
    4.6 million acres

By state

51 states

Alabama11

Alaska20

Arizona10

Arkansas11

California37

Colorado8

Connecticut3

Delaware3

Florida29

Georgia11

Hawaii18

Idaho6

Illinois13

Indiana3

Iowa8

Kansas4

Kentucky4

Louisiana23

Maine11

Maryland7

Massachusetts11

Michigan8

Minnesota13

Mississippi15

Missouri10

Montana19

Nebraska8

Nevada9

New Hampshire5

New Jersey5

New Mexico9

New York12

North Carolina11

North Dakota62

Ohio4

Oklahoma9

Oregon24

Pennsylvania4

Puerto Rico9

Rhode Island5

South Carolina8

South Dakota6

Tennessee8

Texas20

Utah3

Vermont2

Virginia15

Washington22

West Virginia2

Wisconsin9

Wyoming7