The Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Tucker County, West Virginia, was the 500th National Wildlife Refuge to be established in the United States. The refuge preserves a moist valley with unique wetlands and uplands at a relatively high elevation in the Allegheny Mountains. It is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service .HistoryAdvocacy for the establishment of a wildlife refuge in Canaan Valley began as early as 1961. In the 1970s, environmental and citizens' groups battled with Allegheny Power Systems (APS), which had owned more than 13000acre of Canaan Valley since 1923, over construction of a long-anticipated hydroelectric facility that would have flooded about a quarter of the valley. In 1977, the Federal Power Commission issued a license to APS for construction of a pumped storage hydroelectric project, formally known as the Davis Power Project. However, the following year the Project was denied a Clean Water Act permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps' decision cited adverse impacts upon the Valley's wetlands, a relatively new concept at the time.Canaan Valley NWR was initially approved following an Environmental Impact Statement on May 30, 1979. APS appealed the Corps' decision all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1988 declined to hear the case, thus clearing the way for creation of the refuge. About 86acre were purchased in the valley to establish the refuge on July 11, 1994. Another 12,000 acres (48 km2) were purchased from APS in 2002. With other additions, most recently 120 acres in 2008 and 325acre in 2011, the refuge now encompasses some 16628acre of a total authorized size of 25459acre. This represents almost 70% of the valley's 25000acre.
