Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge

Last updated
Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
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Location Phillips County, Montana, USA
Nearest city Malta, MT
Coordinates 48°24′08″N107°39′47″W / 48.40222°N 107.66306°W / 48.40222; -107.66306 [1] Coordinates: 48°24′08″N107°39′47″W / 48.40222°N 107.66306°W / 48.40222; -107.66306 [1]
Area 15,551 acres (62.93 km2)
Established 1936
Visitors 25,000 estimated(in 2013)
Governing body U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,551-acre (6,293 ha) National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) located in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Montana. [2] The refuge is 7 mi (11 km) northeast of Malta, Montana in the Milk River Valley and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [3]

National Wildlife Refuge type of federal conservation area in the United States

National Wildlife RefugeSystem is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants. Since President Theodore Roosevelt designated Florida's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge as the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the system has grown to over 562 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts encompassing more than 150,000,000 acres (607,028 km2).

Montana State of the United States of America

Montana is a landlocked state in the Northwestern United States. Montana has several nicknames, although none are official, including "Big Sky Country" and "The Treasure State", and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains" and more recently "The Last Best Place".

Malta, Montana City in Montana, United States

Malta is a city in, and the county seat of, Phillips County, Montana, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Routes 2 and 191. The population was 1,997 at the 2010 census.

Contents

History

Lake in Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge Lake with wildlife.jpg
Lake in Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge

Bowdoin NWR was previously managed as part of irrigation efforts by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to conserve water that would flow into Lake Bowdoin. The seasonal floods from spring snow melt created excellent habitat for migratory and nesting waterfowl as well as raptors such as the bald eagle and peregrine falcon. [3] [4] Lake Bowdoin is on both the Central and Pacific Flyways used by migratory birds and was well known by locals and naturalists as having the largest numbers of migratory birds in Montana. In an effort to better protect the habitat, Lake Bowdoin and the surrounding region were set aside as a refuge in 1936 and administration passed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [4]

United States Bureau of Reclamation government agency

The United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operation of the diversion, delivery, and storage projects that it has built throughout the western United States for irrigation, water supply, and attendant hydroelectric power generation. Currently the USBR is the largest wholesaler of water in the country, bringing water to more than 31 million people, and providing one in five Western farmers with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland, which produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts. The USBR is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the western United States.

Bald eagle A bird of prey from North America

The bald eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

Peregrine falcon A widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae

The peregrine falcon, also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. As is typical of bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop, making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a National Geographic TV programme, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph).

Fauna

As of 2008, 263 species of birds have been observed at Bowdoin NWR. [5] Nesting waterfowl include the American white pelican, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, white-faced ibis and black-crowned night heron. Waterfowl species such as the northern pintail, green-winged teal, American wigeon and a number of grebe species including both the eared and western grebe also nest at the refuge. Several species of gulls such as Franklin's gull, ring-billed gull and the California gull and passerine species including the red-winged blackbird, western meadowlark, yellow-headed blackbird, American goldfinch, eastern kingbird and lark bunting have also been known to nest on the refuge. [5]

American white pelican species of bird

The American white pelican is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America and South America, in winter.

Double-crested cormorant species of bird

The double-crested cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It habitat is near rivers and lakes as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring 70–90 cm (28–35 in) in length, it is an all-black bird which gains a small double crest of black and white feathers in breeding season. It has a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin. Five subspecies are recognized. It mainly eats fish and hunts by swimming and diving. Its feathers, like those of all cormorants, are not waterproof and it must spend time drying them out after spending time in the water. Once threatened by the use of DDT, the numbers of this bird have increased markedly in recent years.

Great blue heron species of bird

The great blue heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to coastal Spain, the Azores, and areas of far southern Europe. An all-white population found only in south Florida and the Florida Keys is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether it is a white color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species.

Mammal species including the bobcat, beaver, raccoon, coyote, skunk, white-tailed deer and pronghorn live on the refuge. [3] After the refuge was first established, the pronghorn were then protected from hunting, allowing their numbers to swell from 7 to 160 individuals during the 1940s. Pronghorn population figures for the early 21st century averaged between 100 and 150 individuals. [4]

Bobcat Small wild cat

The bobcat is a North American cat that appeared during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago (AEO). Containing 2 recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to central Mexico, including most of the contiguous United States. The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semidesert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments. It remains in some of its original range, but populations are vulnerable to local extinction ("extirpation") by coyotes and domestic animals. With a gray to brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the bobcat resembles the other species of the midsized genus Lynx. It is smaller on average than the Canada lynx, with which it shares parts of its range, but is about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby tail, from which it derives its name.

North American beaver species of mammal

The North American beaver is one of two extant beaver species. It is native to North America and introduced to Patagonia in South America and some European countries. In the United States and Canada, the species is often referred to simply as "beaver", though this causes some confusion because another distantly related rodent, Aplodontia rufa, is often called the "mountain beaver". Other vernacular names, including American beaver and Canadian beaver, distinguish this species from the other extant beaver species, Castor fiber, which is native to Eurasia. The North American beaver is an official animal symbol of Canada and is the official state mammal of Oregon.

Raccoon medium sized procyonid mammal native to North America

The raccoon, sometimes spelled racoon, also known as the common raccoon, North American raccoon,, northern raccoon, or coon, is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. The raccoon is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of 40 to 70 cm and a body weight of 5 to 26 kg. Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense underfur which insulates it against cold weather. Three of the raccoon's most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail, which are themes in the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Raccoons are noted for their intelligence, with studies showing that they are able to remember the solution to tasks for at least three years. They are usually nocturnal and omnivorous, eating about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Boudoin National Wildlife Refuge". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  2. ↑ Lake Bowdoin, MT (Map). Topoquest (USGS Quads). Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Welcome to our refuge". Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "History". Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Bird List" (pdf). Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. July 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
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