Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in south central Kansas, United States, includes rare inland marshes. Located near the town of Stafford, it lies mostly in northeastern Stafford County, but small parts extend into southwestern Rice and northwestern Reno Counties. Its proximity to the Central Flyway migration route and the salt marshes on the refuge combine to endow the refuge with a large variety of birds. Many of these birds are uncommon in other parts of Kansas or even the central part of the continent.
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachment of trees, recycling soil nutrients, and facilitating seed dispersal and germination. Prior to widespread use of the steel plow, which enabled large scale conversion to agricultural land use, tallgrass prairies extended throughout the American Midwest and smaller portions of southern central Canada, from the transitional ecotones out of eastern North American forests, west to a climatic threshold based on precipitation and soils, to the southern reaches of the Flint Hills in Oklahoma, to a transition into forest in Manitoba.
The Erie National Wildlife Refuge is an 8,777-acre (3,552 ha) National Wildlife Refuge located in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Named after the Erie tribe, it was established to provide waterfowl and other migratory birds with nesting, feeding, brooding, and resting habitat.
Arrowwood Wetland Management District is located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. Arrowwood WMD is a part of the Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The district consists of 28 Waterfowl Production Areas, 314 Wetland easements, one easement refuge known as Johnson Lake National Wildlife Refuge and another four easements through the Farmers Home Administration, altogether totalling 28,922 acres (117 km2).
The Valley City Wetland Management District is located in the U.S. state of North Dakota and consists of 76,000 acres (307 km2). The wetland district is a substation of the Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge Complex, overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 82 waterfowl production areas and four separate national wildlife refuges which are privately owned are in turn managed by the wetland district as easement refuges. The wetland district is in portions of 5 counties in the Prairie Pothole Region that was created by the retreat of glaciers 12,000 years ago, during the last glacial maximum. One third of the protected lands are wetlands with the balance consisting of prairie.
The Prairie Pothole Region is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier activity in the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended about 10,000 years ago. The decaying ice sheet left behind depressions formed by the uneven deposition of till as buried ice blocks melted in ground moraines. These depressions are called potholes, glacial potholes, kettles, or kettle lakes. They fill with water in the spring, creating wetlands, which range in duration from temporary to semi-permanent. The region covers an area of about 800,000 sq. km and expands across three Canadian provinces and five U.S. states. The hydrology of the wetlands is variable, which results in long term productivity and biodiversity. The PPR is a prime spot during breeding and nesting season for millions of migrating waterfowl.
The Rydell National Wildlife Refuge is an 2,120-acre (9 km2) National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Minnesota, located in Woodside Township, Polk County, just west of Erskine in northwestern Minnesota. It was established in 1992, and receives more than 7,800 visitors each year. The refuge is a combination of maple/basswood/oak forest, wetlands, tallgrass prairie and bogs.
Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is located in the U.S. state of North Dakota and is managed from Audubon National Wildlife Refuge by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge consists of Lake Ilo, surrounding wetlands and some upland range, providing habitat for hundreds of species of birds, and numerous fish and mammal species. An average of over 16 inches (40 cm) of precipitation falls annually, supporting a prairie ecosystem.
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was created on October 12, 2004, the 545th National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. Its creation was the result of cooperation between at least 30 agencies or governmental entities. The creation of the refuge was spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy, and the initial endowment of 2,300 acres (9.3 km2) of land was donated by the Conservancy. In light of its planned final size of 37,756 acres (153 km2), it is described by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as "the largest tallgrass prairie and wetland restoration project in U.S. history."
Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge, located in Kossuth County, Iowa, was established in 1938 to provide a refuge and breeding ground for waterfowl and other migratory birds. The actual slough is all that remains of a pre-glacial riverbed, and its name is derived from the connection or "union" of two watersheds: the Blue Earth River of Minnesota and the East Fork of the Des Moines River. The terrain is nearly flat, allowing the flow of the water to be determined by the direction of the wind at times.
Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, located in central Minnesota, USA, was established in 1992 to preserve a large, natural wetland complex. It is an essential stop for many species of migrating birds. Located within a large watershed that includes Rice, Skunk and Mud Lakes, Platte and Skunk Rivers, Rice and Buckman Creeks, and sedge meadow wetlands, it harbors one of the largest nesting populations of greater sandhill cranes in Minnesota. Habitats include native tallgrass prairie, oak savanna and wetlands with wild rice stands. With a total authorized acquisition boundary of 13,540 acres (54.8 km2) encompassing this important wetland complex and adjacent uplands, the refuge exists as scattered parcels totaling about 2,000 acres (8.1 km2). Existing ownership lies in Little Falls and Agram townships in Morrison County.
Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established to provide a means of working with individuals, groups, private organizations, and government entities to permanently preserve a portion of the remaining remnant tracts of northern tallgrass prairie in Minnesota and Iowa. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is acquiring remnant prairie tracts for the refuge in both easement and fee title interests from willing sellers.
Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States. It lies in the glacial lake country of northwestern Minnesota in Becker County, 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Detroit Lakes. It was established in 1938 as a refuge breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. It covers 42,724 acres (172.90 km2).
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (HNWR), a haven for migratory birds and other wildlife, lies in northwestern Grayson County, Texas, on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma, on the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas. This National Wildlife Refuge is made up of water, marsh, and upland habitat. Visitors can hike, observe wildlife, hunt, and fish throughout the year.
Big Stone Wetland Management District is a protected area encompassing scattered wetlands in Lincoln and Lyon Counties, Minnesota, United States. It is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service out of headquarters within Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge. District staff also serve private land resource interests by providing technical assistance for United States Department of Agriculture programs and restoring wetlands on private lands.
Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District is located in northwest Minnesota and includes the counties of Becker, Clay, Mahnomen, Norman, and Polk - an area of approximately 6,000 square miles (16,000 km2). The district is divided into three general landscape areas, roughly equal in size. From west to east, these are: the Red River Valley floodplain, the glacial moraine/prairie pothole region, and the hardwood/coniferous forest. The district currently manages over 42,000 acres (170 km2) of public land in 165 waterfowl production areas (WPAs). Additionally, district staff are responsible for more than 300 wetland and upland easements on private property, totaling more than 11,000 acres (45 km2).
The Morris Wetland Management District includes 244 waterfowl production areas, encompassing over 50,000 acres (200 km2) scattered throughout an eight-county area. Like other wetland management districts in the prairie states, the goal of the Morris District is to restore and protect sufficient wetland and grassland habitat to meet the needs of prairie wildlife, particularly breeding waterfowl, as well as provide places for public recreation.
The Windom Wetland Management District acquires and manages Waterfowl Production Areas, enforces wetland easements, and provides conservation assistance to landowners in 12 southwestern Minnesota counties. The landscape is dominated by intense, row-crop agriculture, which has led to the drainage of most wetlands and widespread water quality problems. Deteriorating drainage tile systems and the abundance of historic wetland basins provide unlimited opportunities for wetland restorations.
Located in south-central North Dakota, Kulm Wetland Management District was established in July 1971. Located in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, Kulm Wetland Management District provides breeding, nesting, and brood rearing areas for many species of waterfowl and other migratory birds. The District currently manages 201 waterfowl production areas that total 45,683 acres (184.87 km2), 3 national wildlife refuges that are easement refuges, and 120,000 acres (490 km2) of wetland and grassland easements. The District's headquarters is in Kulm, North Dakota.
The St. Croix Wetland Management District in west-central Wisconsin, United States, encompasses a diversity of habitats lying along the eastern edge of the tallgrass prairie. Within the eight-county district, one can travel north through the high river bluffs of Pepin County, to the prairie potholes of St. Croix County, and then to the pine barrens of Burnett County.
[www.fws.gov/midwest/Planning/BigStoneNWR/CCP_and_Summary/bst_final_ccp_complete_5Dec2012.pdf]
