National Wildlife Refuge Week is Oct. 14-20, and refuges in Texas and across the country are hosting special events, festivals, tours and even volunteer opportunities to help wildlife and to highlight how refuges protect habitat and improve communities.

“Our public lands are our greatest treasures,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said. “Public access to public land is a heritage we have passed down from one American generation to the next—from the contemporaries of Teddy Roosevelt to the outdoor enthusiasts of the modern day. With newly expanded public access across hundreds of thousands of acres within our Refuge System, I look forward to Americans of all ages enjoying recreation on our public lands in the years to come, whether that is hunting, fishing or wildlife watching. I encourage every American to get out and visit a nearby refuge.”

There are 18 refuges in Texas. They are among the 567 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts covering more than 150 million acres of land and waters. The Texas refuges include:

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge
Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
Big Boggy National Wildlife Refuge
Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge
Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Caddo Lake Wildlife Refuge
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge
Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge
Neches River National Wildlife Refuge
San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge
Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge

More than 53 million Americans visit refuges every year, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Refuges generate $2.4 billion per year and more than 35,000 jobs to regional economies. There is a refuge in every state and within an hour’s drive from most major metropolitan areas.

Hunting, within specified limits, is permitted on 377 wildlife refuges. Fishing is allowed on 312 wildlife refuges.

Visit https://www.fws.gov/refuges/ for more details on the National Wildlife Refuge System.