Michigan Wetland Management District | |
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IUCN category Ib (wilderness area) | |
Location within United States | |
Location | Portions of 14 counties of the southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan |
Nearest city | East Lansing (management offices) |
Coordinates | 42°45′52″N84°30′19″W / 42.76444°N 84.50528°W Coordinates: 42°45′52″N84°30′19″W / 42.76444°N 84.50528°W |
Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Website | Michigan Wetland Management District |
The Michigan Wetland Management District consists of a 14-county area and includes three waterfowl production areas (WPAs): the 160-acre (0.65 km2) Schlee WPA and the 138-acre (0.56 km2) Mahan WPA in Jackson County and the 77-acre (310,000 m2) Kinney WPA in Van Buren County. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division, oversees day-to-day management of these three areas through a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 160,248 as of the 2010 Census. The county seat is Jackson. The county was set off in 1829 and organized in 1832. It is named for U.S. President Andrew Jackson and considered to be one of Michigan's "Cabinet counties", named for members of Jackson's Cabinet.
Van Buren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 76,258. The county seat is Paw Paw. The county was founded in 1829 and organized in 1837.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission. Currently the Director is Keith Creagh. The DNR has about 1,400 permanent employees, and over 1,600 seasonal employees.
Michigan has a fourth WPA, the 95-acre (380,000 m2) Schoonover WPA, in Lenawee County. Staff of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, located east of Toledo, Ohio, manages this WPA. All four sites are managed as a mixture of wetlands and grasslands to provide high-quality nesting and brood-rearing habitat for waterfowl and a variety of migratory songbirds.
Lenawee County ("LENN-a-way") is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 99,892. The county seat is Adrian. The county was created in 1822, from territory partitioned out of Monroe County. Its governing structure was organized in 1826.
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in Ohio. This 6,857.91-acre (27.7530 km2) refuge was established in 1961 to preserve habitat for migrating birds.
Toledo is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, at the western end of Lake Erie bordering the state of Michigan. The city was founded in 1833 on the west bank of the Maumee River, and originally incorporated as part of Monroe County, Michigan Territory. It was re-founded in 1837, after conclusion of the Toledo War, when it was incorporated in Ohio.
The Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,022 acres (60.79 km2) (2014) wildlife refuge located in White County, Arkansas about two miles south of the town of Bald Knob. The refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge features large numbers of migratory waterfowl and bald eagles during the winter months.
The Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge is a 9,870.35 acres (39.9439 km2) National Wildlife Refuge in Saginaw County managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It is located in the central portion of the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of the Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron and five miles (8 km) south of the city of Saginaw in the county's Spaulding and James townships. It was established in 1953 to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl.
Sand Lake Wetland Management District is located in the U.S. state of South Dakota and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This is the largest Wetland Management District in the U.S., with 45,000 acres (182 km2) of area directly under federal protection and another 550,000 acres (2,225 km2) managed in partnership with private landowners as conservation easements. A total of 162 Waterfowl Production areas are located on the federally owned lands and the conservation easements are generally adjacent to these areas and act as buffer zones to increase habitat protection.
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 San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex is located in the northern San Joaquin Valley, within Merced County and Stanislaus County of California. The complex, with four federal National Wildlife Refuges, is managed by the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service.
Waubay Wetland Management District is located in the "Coteau des Prairies", or prairie hills region of South Dakota. It includes more than 300 waterfowl production areas (WPAs) in six counties of northeastern South Dakota: Clark, Codington, Day, Grant, Marshall, and Roberts. The WPAs range from 40 acres (16 ha) to more than 1,600 acres (650 ha) in size, comprising a total of 40,000 acres (160 km2). WPAs provide vital wildlife habitat in a landscape of cropland and pasture.
Maple River National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota. It is managed under Kulm Wetland Management District.
Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area is located in Colusa, Butte, and Sutter Counties. It is wetlands managed as part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex and is not open to the public.
Willow Creek-Lurline Wildlife Management Area is located in the Sacramento Valley of California. The landscape is very flat, bordered by the Sierra and Coast ranges and surrounded by intensive agriculture. The objective of this wildlife management area is to protect fall/winter habitat for waterfowl through the acquisition of conservation easements on privately owned wetlands. It is not open to the public.
The Iowa Wetland Management District is part of Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge but is very different from other wetland management districts. Under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the State manages many of the waterfowl production areas (WPAs) in the district. This is a partnership that has been very beneficial to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Together, the State and the Service have been able to develop large complexes of habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife species.
The purpose of Big Stone Wetland Management District is to acquire and manage Waterfowl Production Areas in Lincoln and Lyon Counties. 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 Fergus Falls Wetland Management District was established in 1962 with the initiation of the Accelerated Small Wetlands Acquisition Program. It is located in west central Minnesota and includes the counties of Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Wadena and Wilkin.
The Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District is a fourteen-county district located in east central Minnesota. It includes portions of the Minnesota, Cannon, and Mississippi River watersheds.
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.
Devils Lake Wetland Management District is located in the heart of the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States. The District was established in 1962 to purchase and protect wetland habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife in northeastern North Dakota. One of the primary objectives of Devils Lake Wetland Management District is to provide wetland and grassland habitat for waterfowl in the spring and summer for nesting and feeding. The other primary objective is to provide migration habitat for waterfowl in the spring and fall.
J. Clark Salyer Wetland Management District is located in north-central North Dakota. The District covers 6,543 square miles (16,900 km2) in Renville, Bottineau, Rolette, McHenry, and Pierce Counties. Within the District, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 27,332 acres (110.6 km2) of waterfowl production areas (WPA), 128,117 acres (518.47 km2) of wetland easements, 15,231 acres (61.64 km2) of grassland easements, 6,500 acres (26 km2) of Farmers Home Administration conservation easements, and 7,910 acres (32 km2) of easement refuges.
The Leopold Wetland Management District is named after Aldo Leopold, who is widely acknowledged as the father of wildlife conservation in America. Leopold is perhaps best known as the author of A Sand County Almanac, a book compiled of essays written on his farm in central Wisconsin. In tribute to his philosophy, the Leopold Wetland Management District is dedicated to preserving, restoring, and enhancing wildlife habitat in Wisconsin for the benefit of present and future generations.
Lying along the eastern edge of the tallgrass prairie in west-central Wisconsin, the St. Croix Wetland Management District encompasses a diversity of habitats. 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.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency of the US Federal Government within the US Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."