Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in West Virginia protects a rare high-elevation wetland valley in the Allegheny Mountains and became the 500th unit in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Efforts to protect it began in 1961 and gained force after a long struggle against a proposed hydroelectric project that would have flooded about a quarter of the valley. After federal permitting battles and court appeals ended in 1988, land acquisition began in 1994 and expanded greatly in 2002, with later additions bringing the refuge to about 16,628 acres. It now safeguards nearly 70 percent of the valley and supports diverse wildlife, important bird habitat, and low-impact public recreation.