A new souvenir guide book to National Wildlife Refuges has been published by Lee and Marvin Cook of Wilderness Graphics, Inc. in Tallahassee, Florida. The Blue Goose Passport, named after the symbol of the National Wildlife Refuge System, Is now available at cooperating association bookstores and National Wildlife Refuge concessions scattered across the country.
    

Co-sponsored by 19 refuge support organizations, the passport may be used to record visits. It provides visitors with information on wildlife viewing opportunities at all 514 National Wildlife Refuges. Many refuges will use ink stamps to "cancel" a visitor's passport.
   

Liberally illustrated with key wildlife species, the pocket-sized passport is hardbound with 256 pages. Each refuge listing includes the date the refuge was created and the purpose it serves.
   

"We developed this passport to help draw attention to this remarkable system of wildlife lands that stretches across the country from Puerto Rico to Alaska," said Lee Cook, Vice President of Wilderness Graphics. Her company has worked at many of these special places supporting public use programs with indoor and outdoor exhibits that interpret natural history.
   

"We hope the passport will help people enjoy the wildlife recreation opportunities at their National Wildlife Refuges," Cook added.
   

Encompassing 93 million acres, the National Wildlife Refuge System is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. Most refuges provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, including hiking, photography, wildlife viewing, fishing, hunting, and environmental education.
   

The Refuge System was established in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt when he created Pelican Refuge in Florida. The blue goose symbol was created by Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling, a Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist who served as director of the Biological Survey, which once administered the Refuge System.
   

For more information on National Wildlife Refuges, call 1-800-344-WILD.