Recovering threatened and endangered species is central to the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and the protection of larger areas of habitat is a key part of listed species recovery. However, because land acquisition funding is limited, difficult decisions must be made about which refuges receive money to acquire new habitat each year. Under current policies, listed species are only one of several priorities for Refuge System growth. Recent history suggests that little or no acquisition funding is being allocated to some of the refuges most important to listed species. In this report, we demonstrate an analysis to identify opportunities to promote listed species recovery through land acquisition and recommend refuges to be prioritized for funding based on the results.
