How are national wildlife refuge different from other federally protected public lands?

Wildlife conservation drives everything on national wildlife refuges, from the purposes for which each refuge is established to the recreational activities offered to the resource management tools used. Each refuge is established to serve a statutory purpose that targets the conservation of native species dependent on those lands and waters. All activities on those acres are reviewed for compatibility with this statutory purpose. For example, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts, established to provide habitat for migratory birds, restricts night beach fishing in spring, when tiny piping plovers breed and nest. The beach is reopened once plover breeding season ends.