The US Fish & Wildlife Service has provided the results of their National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Survey that 20,361 refuge visitors voluntarily responded to during 2025. The 4 top activities most enjoyed by refuge visitors included Birding (46%), Wildlife Observation (59%), Photography (39%), and Hiking or Walking (56%). Of course, birding includes all 4 of these activities, so it's clear that birders make up a very significant percent of all refuge visitors. Overall, 97 percent of responders were extremely satisfied, very satisfied, or moderately satisfied with their overall experience when visiting refuges.
In addition, 27 percent of visitors living outside the local area spent multiple days at the refuge, bringing economic gain to local businesses in the form of paying for lodging, food, fuel, and more. Half of the respondents lived within 50 miles of the refuge, and 58 percent of them visited a refuge more than 6 times in the last year.
A total of 141 national wildlife refuges participated in this survey, which was a cooperative effort involving the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), university partners (Ohio State University, University of Washington, and Clemson University), and the American Conservation Experience.
Overall, this is a brief, nicely designed and to the point report that describes visitor demographics, visitor satisfaction levels, trip characteristics and planning, spending during visits, and how management or ecosystem changes might impact future recreation participation. This information helps the USFWS better meet the needs of visitors and understand how trends are changing over time. To view the survey results, refer to The National Visitor Survey | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service