Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge

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Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Nashua River, Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, Harvard MA.jpg
Nashua River
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Map of the United States
Location Middlesex County, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Nearest city Harvard, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°29′50″N71°37′23″W / 42.49722°N 71.62306°W / 42.49722; -71.62306 Coordinates: 42°29′50″N71°37′23″W / 42.49722°N 71.62306°W / 42.49722; -71.62306
Area1,667 acres (6.75 km2)
Established1974
Governing body U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge

Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge is a property of the United States National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) system located in Middlesex and Worcester counties in Massachusetts. It was founded in 1974.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

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).

Middlesex County, Massachusetts County in the United States

Middlesex County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of 2018, the estimated population was 1,614,714, making it the 22nd most populous county in the United States, and the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England. As part of the 2010 national census, the Commonwealth's mean center of population for that year was geo-centered in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick at. Middlesex County is included in the Census Bureau’s Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Contents

Description

The Refuge is located in north-central Massachusetts, approximately 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. The Refuge lies within the towns of Ayer and Shirley in Middlesex County and the towns of Harvard and Lancaster in Worcester County. The Refuge consists of approximately 1,667 acres (6.75 km2) of upland, southern New England floodplain forest, and wetland communities along nearly 8 miles (13 km) of the Nashua River corridor.

Massachusetts State of the United States of America

Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, and is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of Massachusetts's population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

Ayer, Massachusetts Town in Massachusetts, United States

Ayer is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massachusetts volunteers during the American Civil War. Later, Fort Devens was established by the federal government to train New England soldiers for World War I. Fort Devens is a major influence on the area, although it is considerably smaller than when it was first closed in the mid-1990s. The town's population was 7,427 at the 2010 census.

Shirley, Massachusetts Town in Massachusetts, United States

Shirley is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately thirty miles west-northwest of Boston. The population was 7,211 at the 2010 census. The town has a well-preserved historic New England town center.

Origins

Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge was formed by three land transfers from the U.S. Army's Fort Devens military installation, and a recent purchase of private land in Harvard. Two of the transfers from the Army (May 1974 and February 1988) formed the original 711-acre (2.88 km2) portion of the Refuge located south of Massachusetts Route 2. The third Army transfer occurred in May 1999, and added the 836-acre (3.38 km2) portion of the Refuge that is located north of Route 2. Finally, approximately 120 acres (0.49 km2) were added to the Refuge in April, 2001, with the acquisition of the former Watt Farm property along Still River Depot Road in Harvard.

Fort Devens U.S. military installation in Middlesex and Worcester counties, Massachusetts, United States

Fort Devens is an active United States Army military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It was named after jurist and Civil War general Charles Devens. The nearby Devens Reserve Forces Training Area is located in Lancaster. Although closed in 1996, the fort was reopened the next day as the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area. The name reverted to Fort Devens in May 2007.

Massachusetts Route 2 highway in Massachusetts

Route 2 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 to the south, these highways are the main alternatives to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 toll highway. Route 2 runs the entire length of the northern tier of Massachusetts, beginning at the New York border, where it connects with New York State Route 2, and ending near Boston Common in Boston.

Wildlife and habitat

The primary purpose for which the Refuge was created is its "...particular value in carrying out the national migratory bird management program."

The Refuge's interspersion of wetland, forested upland and old field habitats is ideally suited for this purpose. The Refuge supports a diverse mix of migratory birds including waterfowl, wading birds, raptors, shorebirds, passerines, as well as resident mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. The extensive and regionally significant wetlands occurring on and adjacent to the Oxbow Refuge, including their associated tributary drainages and headwaters, have been listed as a priority for protection under both the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986. The portion of the Oxbow NWR south of Route 2 lies within the 12,900-acre Central Nashua River Valley Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) designated by the Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs, and the portions of the Refuge north of Route 2 are included in the Squannassit ACEC due to the unique environmental characteristics and values of these wildlife habitats.

Nashua River river in the United States of America

The Nashua River, 37.5 miles (60.4 km) long, is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It is formed in eastern Worcester County, Massachusetts, by junction of its north and south branches near Lancaster, and flows generally north-northeast past Groton to join the Merrimack at Nashua, New Hampshire. The Nashua River Watershed occupies a major portion of north-central Massachusetts and a much smaller portion of southern New Hampshire.

The Massachusetts Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Program is a list of state-designated places within the Commonwealth that receive special attention due to their natural and cultural resources. The program was established in 1975 and includes a list of thirty ACECs covering over 268,000 acres in seventy six communities throughout the state. The ACEC Program is administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on behalf of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) is a Cabinet level agency under the Governor of Massachusetts. EOEEA is responsible for promoting efficient energy use throughout the Commonwealth while protecting and preserving Massachusetts' natural environment.

Friends group

The Refuge has an active friends group, The Friends of the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, which helps notify people about U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service activities in the Refuge, and also sponsors its own activities in and around the Refuge.

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References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from websites or documents ofthe United States Fish and Wildlife Service .