Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge

The Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge is a large area of marshland in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States. It was donated to the state with certain provisions as to its management as a wildlife sanctuary. It is a biodiverse habitat and is visited annually by many migratory birds. Much research is undertaken into marshland management and alligator ranching, and the income from the sale of alligators contributes to conservation of the marshland.

In 1913, the naturalist and businessman Edward Avery McIlhenny bought abought 86,000 acres of marshland in Louisiana with the help of donated money. The following year the land was sold to the Rockefeller Foundation for the preservation and protection of migratory birds. The Rockefeller Foundation entrusted control of the land to the Conservation Commission of Louisiana for a period of five years. After this was successfully completed, the land was donated to the state, and in 1920 became the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge. During the early years the marsh was patrolled to prevent poaching and the land was periodically burnt to encourage the growth of suitable fodder for muskrats and geese. The expenses of the Refuge were at least partly met by the sale of muskrat pelts.

The primary aim of the project was to conserve the wetlands habitat. The provisions of the bequest stipulated that all revenue must be ploughed back into the project. Fur–bearing mammals, waterfowl and alligators could be cropped on a sustainable basis and these and the oil available underground have been carefully harvested and have provided a steady source of income. In the 1960s, the commission used these funds for a pioneering program of alligator management with the whole area becoming, in effect, a vast alligator ranch.

The Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge occupies a strip of low-lying flat treeless land adjoining the Gulf of Mexico for 26.5 miles (42.6 km) and extending inland for about 6 miles (9.7 km) to the Grand Chenier Ridge, a marine terrace. The original 86,000 acres of the site have been reduced to about 76,000 by coastal erosion. It is one of the most biodiverse wildlife areas in the United States.

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