Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1938, includes more than 5,800 acres of managed barrier island habitat that serves as an important nesting and wintering area for many migratory birds and lies on the northern edge of the nesting range for loggerhead turtles. Visitors can use the refuge visitor center, watch wildlife from the North Pond Wildlife Trail, cross the dunes to the ocean and beach, fish, and join guided walks and tours. Charles Kuralt, a North Carolina native and noted radio and broadcast journalist, created the television feature “On the Road,” traveling by motor home to out-of-the-way places across America, and later ended CBS Sunday Morning broadcasts with scenes of the nation’s natural landscapes, many filmed on National Wildlife Refuges. His long interest in these protected wildlands was recognized after his death with a distinguished Citizen’s Award from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark in 1997. The National Wildlife Refuge System, founded by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, includes more than 500 units and 93 million acres managed to conserve plants, fish, and wildlife across environments ranging from Pacific islands to Arctic tundra, wetlands, swamps, and deserts. In North Carolina, the Outer Banks region is connected by the Roanoke, Tar, Neuse, and Cape Fear rivers, whose waters meet the sea in estuaries such as Albemarle, Currituck, Pamlico, and Back Bay, creating productive nurseries for marine life and feeding and resting areas for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. National Wildlife Refuges in the Roanoke, Tar, Neuse, and Cape Fear ecosystem protect these wildlands and provide opportunities for fishing, hunting, wildlife observation, nature photography, interpretation, and environmental education, while the Charles Kuralt Trail links notable sites that showcase the region’s character and wildlife.