September 3 marks to 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Land and Water Conservation Fund – a federal program dedicated to the preservation and conservation of land and the improvement of outdoor recreational opportunities. More than 160,000 acres in the densely-populated northeast are now permanently protected as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System thanks to these funds, including 5,270 acres at Virginia’s Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Original image by Heather Jerue/USFWS
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region 