The National Wildlife Refuge System of today spans over 500 refuge sites and all 50 of the United States, plus American territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The first foundations of the National Wildlife Refuge System were laid in the late 19th century, when the Yosemete Valley was placed under the protection of the state of California by an 1864 act of Congress. Other measures, such as the creation of Yellowstone National Park and other wildlife refuges in Alaska, continued through the 1870s and 1880s. The 1903 creation of Pelican Island Wildlife Refuge, by executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt, is considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the birth of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
For the first few decades of the 20th century, the new Wildlife Refuge System grew in fits and starts, adding land and personnel as funds became available. With the passing of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (also called the "Duck Stamp Act"), a steady stream of revenue through the sale of stamps was created, allowing the program to flourish.
Shortly after the passing of the Duck Stamp Act, Bureau of Biological Survey head Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling recruited a young, Midwestern biologist named J. Clark Salyer II to be head of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
A graduate of Central College (now Central Methodist University), Salyer expanded the newly-minted Wildlife Refuge System into the robust, well-admired program that it is today, earning himself the title of "Father of the National Wildlife Refuge System." It was his education at Central that helped Salyer evolve into the dynamic, pioneering biologist and conservationist whose accomplishments we still honor today.