(editor'snote)

In this age of harrowing uncertainty, celebrating our nation's natural heritage can soothe the soul. This issue of Audubon marks the centennial of the National Wildlife Refuge System, a distinctly American gift to future generations. "The other public lands exist chiefly for people. The refuges are unique in that they are set aside chiefly for wildlife," writes Frank Graham in "Where Wildlife Rules."

Since its inception in 1899, this magazine has been a driving force behind the refuge system's birth and growth. In 1900 Frank Chapman, the legendary ornithologist and editor of Audubon (then called Bird-Lore), ventured to Florida's Pelican Island to record its vanishing birds with his state-of-the-art "reflecting camera." While obtaining photos of brown pelicans "on the wing," Chapman lamented the "irreparable" loss of herons, egrets, and spoonbills that "quill-hunters" had wiped out. That year, during a visit to President Theodore Roosevelt's home in Oyster Bay, New York, he exhorted the President to take action. When, in 1903, Roosevelt set aside Pelican Island as the first wildlife refuge, Chapman proclaimed in these pages, "Every bird-lover will rejoice to learn that one of the most interesting breeding colonies of birds in North America comes under the care of the United States government."

Even as the refuge system grew, one of its prizes, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—known as the American Serengeti—remained acutely vulnerable. In May 1988 Les Line, Audubon's brilliant editor from 1966 through 1991, devoted a special issue to the refuge. "The first copies were hand-delivered by Audubon volunteers to every member of Congress at a critical time, when the White House was pressing hard to open the refuge to drilling," he recalls, describing the experience as his "proudest moment" as editor. In 2001 this magazine crashed a cover story on the refuge just before another big vote on drilling. Once again, the magazine went to members of Congress, and it proved a valuable weapon in Audubon's lobbying arsenal. (This past March, Audubon's policy team played a big part in defeating another bill to allow drilling in the refuge. At presstime, a new attempt was pending.)

Today our national wildlife refuges have many problems, starting with invasive species, as Ted Williams argues in "The Second Century." The good news: Refuges enjoy bipartisan backing in Congress and in the Bush administration, which together have earmarked the most money ever for them. For more good news, read "Labor of Love," where Jennifer Bogo profiles volunteers dedicated to fulfilling the refuges' promise. With friends like these, you can be sure that a century from today, Audubon will be celebrating a grand bicentennial, and wildlife everywhere will be cheering.