The 26th annual A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Photography Contest

The 26th annual A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Photography Contest will be conducted from January 3, 2009 to March 1, 2009.

The Friends of the A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge will present
over $1500 in prizes to winners in 6 categories and to a Grand Winner. Winners and Honorably Mentioned photographs will be displayed at the Refuge's Visitor Center, on the Refuge's web site http://www.fws.gov/loxahatchee, and in Friends of the A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge's annual calendar.

Select photographs will also be made available for sale at the Friends of the A.R.M. Loxahatchee NWR store inside the Refuge Visitor Center. The Everglades Photographic Society http://www.evergladesphotosociety.org will coordinate and conduct the contest for the Refuge. The contest's rules and entry forms are available at the Visitor Center and on the web at
http://www.evergladesphotosociety.org/loxcontest/. If you have questions about the photography contest, please
send an e-mail to loxcontest@evergladesphotosociety.org.

The refuge is located off U.S. 441/SR 7, two miles south of SR 804 (Boynton Beach Blvd.) and three miles north of SR 806 (Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue). The refuge is currently open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., seven days a week. Refuge hours change seasonally and are posted at each entrance. The Visitor Center hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends. An entrance fee of $5.00 per vehicle or $1.00 per pedestrian is charged. A variety of annual passes, including a $12.00 refuge specific annual pass, are available. Please visit the refuge website at http://loxahatchee.fws.gov or call the Administration Office at (561) 732-3684.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 100-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of 549 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management offices, and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.