Photography

A Photo Appreciation of America’s National Wildlife Refuges

Since 1903, the United States has established more than 580 National Wildlife Refuges, designating a diverse array of lands and waters as protected areas for plants and wildlife.

By Alan Taylor
A bison walks through a grassy field with the Denver skyline and distant mountains visible in the background.
Matt Dirksen / iStockphoto / Getty
A bison walks through the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado, with the Denver skyline visible in the background.
Small groups of snow geese take flight above wetlands.
Vicki Jauron / Babylon and Beyond Photography / Getty
Snow geese take flight in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico in winter.
Several wild ponies drink and graze along a shoreline.
Matt McClain / The Washington Post / Getty
Wild ponies drink and graze in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on December 18, 2018, in Accomack County, Virginia.
Fish gather around coral in a shallow lagoon, seen underwater.
Ian Shive / Planet Pix / ZUMA Wire / Reuters
Fish gather around coral in the lagoon surrounding Rose Atoll Marine National Monument and National Wildlife Refuge, the easternmost island of American Samoa.
A group of steep snow-covered mountains
Kristine Sowl / ZUMA Wire / Reuters
Steep mountains rise above the Joshua Green River Valley in Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. A group of tribal governments and environmental organizations filed several lawsuits this month against the Trump administration, trying to block recent actions that would allow a road to be built through the wildlife refuge.
An adult harbor seal watches over a pup as they lay beside a slough.
Aric Crabb / Staff / ZUMA Wire / Reuters
An adult harbor seal watches over a pup as they lay out along the Newark Slough in the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont, California.
A small seabird glides above the water, dragging the tip of its beak along the surface.
Bruce Bennett / Getty
A black skimmer glides above the water in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida on February 9, 2025.
A bull elk bellows, surrounded by several female elk.
John Morrison / Getty
A herd of elk grazes in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, on the Missouri River in northern Montana.
A dense flock of blackbirds take flight.
Qian Weizhong / VCG / Getty
Blackbirds fly over Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in Yuma, Arizona, on February 22, 2023.
A view of green, forested mountains in Hawaii
Ingrid Land / 500px / Getty
A view of the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, on the island of Kauaʻi, Hawaii
Dozens of sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs on a sandy beach.
David Patte / Planet Pix / ZUMA Wire / Reuters
Green sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on Midway Atoll.
A polar bear walks across snow.
Sylvain Cordier / Gamma-Rapho / Getty
A polar bear walks across snow in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The dorsal fins of three orca whales are visible as they swim near shore, beneath a forested slope.
Laura Hedien / Getty
A pod of orcas swims through Uganik Bay in Alaska’s Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.
A heron wades in calm, shallow water, beside a small tree.
Stan Honda / AFP / Getty
A heron wades in shallow water in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida.
Two people walk along an elevated boardwalk through a cypress forest.
Susan Stocker / South Florida Sun-Sentinel / Tribune News Service / Getty
Phill and Elizabeth Frias walk along the Cypress Swamp Boardwalk in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Palm Beach County, Florida.
A pair of geese swims in a calm lake, with a tall mountain in the background.
VW Pics / Universal Images Group / Getty
Canada geese swim in Lower Klamath Lake, with Mount Shasta in the distance, in California’s Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.
A coyote hides in reeds while hunting.
Tom Koerner / Planet Pix / ZUMA Wire / Reuters
A coyote hides in reeds while hunting in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.
A snowy owl stands on a beach.
KenCanning / iStockphoto / Getty
A snowy owl stands on a beach in Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island in Massachusetts.
A manatee swims in greenish water, seen underwater.
James R. D. Scott / Getty
A manatee swims through Three Sisters Springs in the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge in Citrus County, Florida.
A tree swallow takes flight from a bright flower.
Peter Pearsall / Planet Pix / ZUMA Wire / Reuters
A tree swallow takes flight from a red-hot-poker bloom in the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex near Eugene, Oregon.
A person, seen from behind in the foreground, watches a large flock of snow geese fly past.
Charlie Riedel / AP
A woman watches snow geese fly over Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in Mound City, Missouri.

About the Author

Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.
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