FOLKSTON, Ga. (AP) -- The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is extending the hours of its visitor center as tourism picks up heading into spring.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which operates the south Georgia refuge, says the visitor center at its main east entrance will be open seven days a week through the end of June. The change is made annually to accommodate higher tourist traffic that begins in mid-winter.

The visitor center will go back to opening only five days a week when visitation tapers off during the hot summer months.

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge covers 402,000 acres of federally protected land near the Georgia-Florida state line.