National Wildlife Refuge · FWS · AL · Roosevelt connection
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
Alerts and conditions
Weather Frost Advisory issued November 8 at 10:11AM CST until November 9 at 8:00AM CST by NWS Huntsville AL
* WHAT...Temperatures as low as 33 will result in frost formation.
* WHERE...Portions of north central, northeast, and northwest
Alabama.
* WHEN...From 11 PM this evening to 8 AM CST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Frost could harm sensitive outdoor vegetation. Sensitive
outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered.
What to do: Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
Read the full alert · Until Nov 9, 2026, 2:00 PM
History
The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.
The Roosevelt connection
Protected by T.R.
- December 7, 1908: as President, Theodore Roosevelt set aside Wheeler National Monument. Eroded spires of volcanic tuff high in the San Juan Mountains. Congress abolished the monument in 1950; it is now the Wheeler Geologic Area of Rio Grande National Forest.
presidency.ucsb.edu · web.archive.org · fs.usda.gov · Roosevelt’s Public Lands
His proclamations and orders
- December 7, 1908: Proclamation 831, “Setting Aside the Wheeler National Monument, Colorado.” Today’s site no longer exists. Abolished 1950; the formations are now the Wheeler Geologic Area of the Rio Grande National Forest, in the La Garita Wilderness.
Proclamation 831 in Theodore Roosevelt’s Executive Orders and Proclamations
What to see and do
Plan your visit
Check the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for current hours, fees and access.
Whose lands these are
These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.
Pair it with
- Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 29 miles
- Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 39 miles
- William B. Bankhead National Forest USFS · 39 miles
- Paint Rock River National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 48 miles
- Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 57 miles
- Russell Cave National Monument NPS · 62 miles