The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge is a 29,175 acre National Wildlife Refuge located in Chatham and Effingham counties in Georgia and Jasper County in South Carolina. Of the total area, 14163acre is in Georgia and 15011acre is in South Carolina. The refuge was established to provide a nature and forest preserve for aesthetic and conservation purposes.The refuge is one of seven refuges administered by the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex in Savannah, Georgia. The complex has a combined staff of 31 with a fiscal year 2005 budget of $3,582,000.HistoryThe first European visitors to the Savannah, Georgia area arrived in 1526. James Oglethorpe established the city of Savannah in 1733. By the mid-eighteenth century, rice planters were farming much of the land that is now part of the refuge. The old rice levees, which were built by hand, form the basis for current impoundment dikes. Remnants of the original rice field trunk water control structures and narrow dikes are still visible in some places. Within the impoundment system there are 36 historic and prehistoric archeological sites which have been located and inventoried. On April 6, 1927, Executive Order No. 4626 established the Savannah River Bird Refuge and set aside 2352acre as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds. On November 12, 1931, Executive Order No. 5748 added 207acre to the refuge and renamed the area the Savannah River Wildlife Refuge. An additional 6527acre were assigned to the refuge on June 17, 1936, by Executive Order No. 7391. On July 25, 1940, Presidential Proclamation 2416 renamed the refuge the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.
