President Bush marked the 100th anniversary of America's National Wildlife Refuge System by proposing a $25.5 million increase in the system's budget for FY 2004, the second major increase in two years. Last year, the President proposed an historic $56.5 million budget increase for the refuge system, which was founded by President Theodore Roosevelt on March 14, 1903 and now includes 95 million acres on 540 refuges in all 50 states.

The $402 million request for FY 2004 would represent more than a doubling of the refuge systems' budget since 1997. The total budget request for the Fish and Wildlife Service is $1.3 billion.

"President Bush's strong support of the refuge system in his 2004 budget request will ensure the system continues to be the world's premier network of lands dedicated to fish and wildlife conservation for the next 100 years," said Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton.

"This budget will allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to continue to tackle the maintenance backlog in the system and improve the management of refuges for both the health of wildlife and the enjoyment of the American people."

"Our national wildlife refuges are national treasures," Norton said. "The President's budget request will help ensure that future generations of Americans will have the opportunity to treasure them as we do."