With warmer summer weather, many students will take to the beauty of Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge.

But many do not understand the rules of Crab Orchard and this gets a lot of people in trouble, said Jonathan Shafler, assistant refuge manager at Crab Orchard.

Crab Orchard is unique among wildlife refuges because most of it is open to the public. Of the nearly 50,000 acres that make up the refuge, there are three large lakes:Crab Orchard, Little Grassy and Devil’s Kitchen.

About 20,000 acres of this are off limits to the public. Many people do not know this, and a lot of people drive into these areas, Shafler said.

Crab Orchard, founded in 1947, is a part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is one of 517 wildlife refuges throughout the country.

For the people allowed to drive in, a sticker is required for their car. It costs $15 to buy a sticker for the whole year, Shafler said. There is also a $5, 5-day pass and a $2, 1-day pass. He said these stickers are sold at every campground, so there are no excuses for not getting one.

While the sticker program is unpopular, the money collected goes to building trails and for general maintenance, among other items. He said all parking tickets on the refuge are $100, and this money goes to the government and cannot be used at Crab Orchard.

About 140 SIUC students volunteer or intern every year at Crab Orchard. Shafler said students should volunteer because they would benefit from the experiences they would have going into the wildlife refuge.

Crab Orchard has a variety of recreational activities people can engage in, such as hunting, fishing, wildlife photography, hiking and fishing. Bald eagles have been placed here and tours are allowed, he said.

The University is a great opportunity for us to interact with young people, Shafler said.

While most people obey the rules, Shafler said too often people litter, throw cigarette butts on the ground, and do not obey the signs. Law enforcement is a problem since there are only four officers to monitor about 1.2 million visitors that come each year, he said.