USF & W Midwest Wildlife Refuge Directory at woodenbirdcarvings.com

The National Wildlife Refuge System came into being on March 14, 1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt established the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.

There are currently 548 national wildlife refuges managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, encompassing some 96,373,969 total acres. Every state in the nation maintains at least one refuge, while most states have several.

The primary objective for the establishment and maintaining of most of these refuges is to provide a suitable habitat and sanctuary for migratory and / or endangered species of wildlife.

While some of these are not open or accessible to the public, most of these refuges are available for recreational use. In fact, according to a recent survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recreational usage of the national refuges generates almost $2 Billion annually in total economic activity.

On these pages, we are providing links and very brief descriptions of each of these refuges. These will be organized by Region with sub-divisions by State. There are currently seven regions – Midwest, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, Mountain-Prairie, and Alaska.

This directory of the United States Fish & Wildlife Refuges is a work in progress. We are researching and documenting each refuge and attempting to make sure the information is both current and accurate. Since the Southeast region (USF & W Region 4) is our home, we began this project with that region.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Midwest Region Refuges

With this page, we have added the information pertaing to the Midwest Region, which is made up of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. It is our intention to complete this directory as quickly as possible. We invite you to check back often to check on our progress.

If you want to see many of the birds that we have for sale in their natural habitat, you are sure to find your next excursion destination on these pages. Enjoy!

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Midwest Region Refuges

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Ohio
Wisconsin

Illinois
Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge
The Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1936 and is composed of a total 4,388 acres, of which 3,200 acres is Lake Chatauqa proper. The refuge is located in the middle of the Mississippi Flyway along the Illinois River near Havana, Illinois. The refuge provides habitat for up to 250,000 waterfowl and 10,000 shorebirds, in addition to more than 175 Bald Eagles.

Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge
The Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1947 on 43,890 acres including three man-made lakes in southern Illinois. In addition to the normal refuge objectives of wildlife conservation and recreation, the Crab Orchard NWR is unique in the system in that it has a successful Agricultural and Industrial program which returns $40 million annually to the local economy. The refuge provides habitat to 245 different bird species and the wintertime population for visiting Canadian Geese can reach as high as 200,000.

Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge
The Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 and currently encompasses 15,000 acres with plans to grow to as many as 36,000 acres in southernmost Illinois. Located in the Cache River Wetlands, also known as the Illinois' Bayou, the refuge is home to the oldest living plants east of the Mississippi River, bald cypress trees which are aged at 1,000-1,500 years old. The refuge is an important nesting and resting habitat for wintering, migratory birds with one of the more plentiful being the Great Blue Heron.

Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge
The Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1993 in the Illinois River Valley. Currently, the refuge is at 2,114 acres on its planned growth objective of 11,122 acres. The mission of the refuge is acquiring and restoring cropland to the historic wetlands and associated habitat of the valley. During the spring and fall migrations, several species of waterfowl and shorebirds such as sandpipers and ducks can be spotted resting and feeding in these newly flooded areas.

Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge
The Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1973 along the east side of the Illinois River in Morgan and Cass Counties, Illinois. Currently at a size of 3,852 acres, the refuge is still growing through acquisition with its planned total being 5,255 acres. The mission of the objective is to provide a safe habitat and haven for wildlife, primarily for waterfowl and other migratory birds. The refuge protects habitat for nesting and wintering Bald Eagles.

Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge
The Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge was initially established in 1993 and is currently approximately 4,300 acres in size and encompasses four areas along 60 miles of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, Missouri. These areas include: Harlow Island, Wilkinson Island, Meissner Island, and Beaver Island. The primary objective of the refuge is to restore habitats that have been lost or degraded as a result of modifications to the flood plain and the river. Migratory waterfowl which are known to pass along this part of the Mississippi River corridor include thousands of Mallards, Pintail, Wigeon, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Scaup, Shoveler, Gadwall, Canvasback, Canada and Snow Geese.

Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge
The Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1958 and encompasses a total of 8,500 acres along 350 miles of the Mississippi River in the states of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. More than 200 different species of birds funnel through this important river juncture on their fall migration including over 5,000,000 ducks and 50,000 geese.

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Indiana
Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge
The Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2000 and includes 50,000 acres of the former U.S. Army Jefferson Proving Ground in southeastern Indiana. The bird habitat provided by the Big Oaks NWR is uniquely significant because it contains one of the largest contiguous forest blocks and grassland complexes in southeast Indiana. Over 200 species of birds can be found here including the state-endangered Henslow’s Sparrows and the federally-threatened Bald Eagles.

Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
The Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1966 on 7,802 acres in south central Indiana near Seymour, Indiana. The refuge provides habitat for over one million waterfowl, including Trumpeter Swans which were re-introduced in the area in 1998.

Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Wildlife Management Area
The Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Wildlife Management Area was established in 1994 and contains 5,131 acres. The refuge provides excellent habitat for Wood Duck production and supports over 380 species of wildlife, including the threatened bald eagle and endangered Indiana bat. One of the significant current refuge projects includes securing the funding and the construction of a 60-acre nesting pool for the endangered Interior Least Tern.

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Iowa
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge
The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1958 and encompasses 8,362 acres, 4,500 of which are in the State of Nebraska and 3,862 acres are in the state of Iowa. It is located in the floodplain of the Missouri River in a former bend of the river about 25 miles north of Omaha, Nebraska. During the fall migration, the refuge provides habitat for around a half million Snow Geese and as many 75,000 ducks, mostly Mallards. Several other bird species can also be spotted here, including Bald Eagles, Warblers, Gulls, and Shorebirds.

Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge
The Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1989 and currently consists of 775 acres made up of nine units in four different counties in northeastern Iowa. The primary objectives of the refuge are to preserve and permanently protect populations of the Iowa Pleistocene snail and threatened Northern Monkshood, which is a flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family.

Iowa Wetland Management District
The Iowa Wetland Management District encompasses 35 counties in north-central Iowa. With its location as the first suitable breeding habitat available to waterfowl on their migration north, the district currently contains 70 waterfowl production areas. The refuge also supports a sizable population of Ring-necked Pheasants and a number of other migratory species including Grasshopper Sparrow, and Dickcissel.

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 to re-create 8,654 acres of tall grass prairie and oak savanna in central Iowa, near Des Moines. The Refuge is the largest re-creation of the tall grass prairie ecosystem anywhere in the United States. Native grasses and prairie flowers are being nurtured, and more than 200 types of prairie seeds have been replanted. Over 200 bird species have been identified on the refuge.

Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge
The Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge was originally established in 1958 as part of the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge. It consists of 10,780 acres of Iowa flood plain. Being a part of a major migratory bird corridor, one of the objectives of the refuge is to provide habitat for migratory birds and resident wildlife. Some of the largest wintering concentrations of Bald Eagles in the contiguous 48 states are found along the river.

Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge
The Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1937 on 3,334 acres on the Northern Great Plains of Iowa. The refuge objectives include providing resting, nesting and feeding habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds. As such, it produces approximately 1,000 Wood Ducks each year.

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Michigan
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge was established in 2001 as the first International Wildlife Refuge in North America. It is located along 48 miles of the lower Detroit River and western shoreline of Lake Erie. The current size of the refuge is 4,982 acres, up from its initial size of 304 acres, and it provides habitat for over 300 species of migratory birds. More than three million waterfowl are estimated to migrate through the Great Lakes area each year.

Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge
The Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1983 and consists of 695 acres in Potagannissing Bay on Lake Huron. Resident bird species include Grouse, White-throated Sparrows, Gray Jays and Magnolia Warblers.

Huron National Wildlife Refuge
The Huron National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1970 and is composed of eight islands totaling 147 acres about three miles off the south shore of Lake Superior. The refuge was established for the protection of migratory birds, specifically, a large nesting colony of Herring Gulls.

Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area
The Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area was established in the early 1980's and is located on 119 sites scattered throughout eight counties in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The refuge was established primarily to provide a habitat for the endangered Kirtland's Warbler. To date, the refuge has grown to a total of 6,684 acres towards its initial goal of 7,500 acres. The estimated population of singing male Kirtland's Warbler was estimated to be fewer than 200 in the 1970's, but largely through efforts such as this refuge, by 2003 the population had increased to an estimated 1,202.

Michigan Wetland Management District
The Michigan Wetland Management District was established in 1980 as a 14-county area and includes three waterfowl production areas, totaling 375 acres. More than 60 species of birds have been observed on the waterfowl production areas, including 10 species of waterfowl. Herons, sandhill cranes, shorebirds, and grassland birds are found on the refuge.

Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
The Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1943 and is comprised of eight islands in Lakes Michigan and Huron. The refuge objectives include providing habitat for migratory birds and colonial nesting birds. The islands are used for nesting by American Redstarts, Herring and Ring-billed Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, and Common and Caspian Terns.

Seney National Wildlife Refuge
The Seney National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935 and consists of 95,212 acres including 25,150 acres of wilderness areas. It is located in the Great Manistique Swamp area of Michigan. The primary refuge objectives include providing a safe breeding and migration habitat for migratory birds. Habitat residents include many species of Ducks, Bald Eagles, Osprey, Common Loons and Trumpeter Swans.

Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge
The Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1953 and spans 9,427 acres of bottomland-hardwood forests, rivers, marshes, managed pools, fields and croplands located just south of the City of Saginaw, Michigan and in the Mississippi Flyway. The refuge is home to over 200 species of migratory bird species including raptors, shore and wading birds, and more than 100 songbird species. During prime migration seasons, as many as 20,000 Canadian Geese and 30,000 ducks can be found.

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Minnesota
Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge
The Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1937 on 61,500 acres in northwestern Minnesota, including 4,000 acres of wilderness. Prior to 1961, the refuge was known as the Mud Lake Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. Two bog lakes, Kuriko and Whiskey, lie within the area. The refuge provides habitat for 294 species of birds, such as Franklin's gulls, several water bird species, songbirds, Black Terns, geese, Mallards, American and Least Bitterns.

Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge
The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1975 on 11,521 acres of wetlands and grasslands in west central Minnesota. The refuge provides resting and feeling habitat for several species of waterfowl and shorebirds as well as migrating warblers and other song birds. Among the species which can be identified here are 17 species of ducks and 23 species of shorebirds including Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Canada Geese, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Lesser Yellowlegs.

Big Stone Wetland Management District
The Big Stone Wetland Management District established in 1996 to acquire and manage lands within Lincoln and Lyon counties, Minnesota. Currently managed Waterfowl Production Areas and habitat protection areas encompass some 3,000 acres. During the spring and fall migration periods, over 20 species of waterfowl inhabit the lands managed by the district.

Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
The Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 in the wetlands of east-central Minnesota. With a total authorized acquisition boundary of 13,540 acres, current acquisitions total about 2,000 acres. The refuge provides habitat for one of the largest nesting populations of Greater Sandhill Cranes in Minnesota.

Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District
The Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District was established in 1968 and currently manages 163 federally owned Waterfowl Productions Areas (WPAs) in Becker, Clay, Mahnomen, Norman and Polk Counties, totaling 40,678 acres plus 326 Wetland Easement areas for an additional 12,200 acres. Detroit Lakes is one of five USF & W wetland districts that have been established in western Minnesota with the primary objective to acquire, develop and manage habitat for waterfowl production.

Fergus Falls Wetland Management District
The Fergus Falls Wetland Management District was established in 1962 and includes Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Wadena and Wilkin Counties. The district currently manages 215 Waterfowl Productions Areas totaling 44,600 acres as well as an additional 1,192 wetland easements. This area has always been a paradise for waterfowl, Prairie Chickens, Whooping Cranes and other prairie wildlife. Refuge objectives include waterfowl production and ensuring the preservation of habitat for migratory birds.

Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
The Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2004 on 2,300 acres in northwestern Minnesota. The refuge is authorized to grow to 37,756 acres. One of the primary objectives of the refuge is to maintain the diversity and increase the abundance of waterfowl and other migratory bird species that are dependent on prairie wetland and grassland habitats. The refuge provides critical habitat for declining grassland birds, Greater Prairie Chickens, Sandhill Cranes, as well as the endangered Western Prairie Fringed 0rchid, among other species of plant and animal life.

Hamden Slough National Wildlife Refuge
The Hamden Slough National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1989 northeast of Audubon, Minnesota. The refuge is currently at 3,1270 acres in size, roughly half its authorized, objective size of 5,944 acres. Refuge objectives include providing Provide resting, nesting and feeding habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds. This objective is planned to be reached by restoring 3,000 acres of wetlands and 2,250 acres of upland grass to native habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, neotropical migratory songbirds and birds of prey.

Litchfield Wetland Management District
The Litchfield Wetland Management District was established in 1978 on the eastern edge of the Prairie Pothole Region in central Minnesota. Covering the counties of Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Renville, Stearns, Todd and Wright, the district currently manages 151 Waterfowl Production Areas totaling 34,332 acres and 510 Wetland Easements totaling 11,969 acres. Eighty percent of the wetlands and ninety-nine percent of the prairie in this "prairie pothole" region of Minnesota have been destroyed. The primary goal of the district is the restoration of native wetland and prairie habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife.

Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge
The Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1915. Made up of two small islands, slightly more that one half acre in total size, the refuge, over a mile from shore on Lake Mille Lacs in north-central Minnesota, this refuge is known as the smallest refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Established to function as "a preserve and breeding ground for native birds", Mille Lacs Refuge harbors one of only four breeding colonies in the state of Minnesota for the threatened Common Tern.

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1976 about 10 miles from downtown Minneapolis Minnesota. Currently the refuge comprises 14,000 authorized acres, stretching for 45 miles from Fort Snelling State Park to Bell Plain, Minnesota. Located along the Mississippi Flyway, the refuge is used by many species of migrating birds on their journeys to and from their breeding grounds. The over 226 species of birds which can be found on the refuge throughout the seasons include the Wood Duck, American Redstart, Great Blue Heron, American Goldfinch, Bald Eagle, Canada Goose and many others.

Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District
The Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District was established in 1990. The fourteen-county district located in east central Minnesota includes portions of the Minnesota, Cannon, and Mississippi river watersheds. Currently the district manages 4,255 acres of Waterfowl Production Areas and approximately 1,898 Wetland Easement acres. The major breeding species of waterfowl in the district are Mallards, Blue-winged Teal, and Wood Ducks. Breeding by Redheads, Ruddy Ducks, Canvasbacks, Hooded Mergansers, and Gadwalls has also been confirmed on the refuge.

Morris Wetland Management District
The Morris Wetland Management District Was established in 1964 in a seven county area: Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac Qui Parle, Pope, Stevens, Swift, Traverse and Yellow Medicine in the western prairie and wetlands of Minnesota. Currently the district manages 244 Waterfowl Production Areas, encompassing over 50,000 acres as well as over 22,000 acres of privately owned Wetland easement and protection area. The WPA's in the Morris district produce over 77,000 ducks annually. The district also provides a steadily expanding habitat for Prairie Chickens and Sharp-tailed Grouse.

Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge
The Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1999 in the northern, tallgrass, prairie region of western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa and is currently 1,800 acres in size. The refuge provides habitat for a large number of migratory birds, including songbirds, marsh and wading birds, waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and upland game birds. Over 243 species of birds have been identified on the refuge and over 152 species are known to breed there.

Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge
The Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935 on 18,300 acres, of which 4,500 acres is Rice Lake, itself. Located in Aitkin County, Minnesota, the refuge provides habitat and sanctuary for one of the largest concentrations of migrating Ring-necked Ducks in the country. During fall migration, more than 150,000 ducks can be found on the Refuge.

Rydell National Wildlife Refuge
The Rydell National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 on 2,120 acres of the Prairie Pothole Region of Northwestern Minnesota. Refuge Objectives include providing nesting, feeding and resting habitat for waterfowl and other migratory woodland and grassland birds such as Lesser Scaup, Mallard, Wood Duck, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck and Canada Geese.

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge
The Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1965 and encompasses 30,700 acres in the St. Francis River Valley area of east central Minnesota. The primary objectives of the refuge is the restoration of the native oak savanna, wetland and big woods habitats of the area. Over 230 species of birds have been identified on the refuge, including the Eastern Meadowlark, Grasshopper and Savanna Sparrows, Ovenbird and Yellow-throated Vireo.

Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge
The Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938 on 42,724 acres, including over 2,100 acres of wilderness in northwest Minnesota. One of the primary objectives of the refuge is to provide resting, nesting and feeding habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds. Bird species known to be resident on the refuge include Bald Eagles, Loons, Trumpeter Swans and songbirds.

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge
The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge was established in 1924 and encompasses over 240,000 acres of wooded islands, marshes, and backwaters along the Mississippi River in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. Located in the middle of the Mississippi Flyway, which is used by 40 percent of the waterfowl in the U.S., the refuge is a winter home to thousands of Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, Common Egret, Tundra Swans and Canvas-back ducks.

Windom Wetland Management District
The Windom Wetland Management District was established in 1990 in parts of 12 southwestern Minnesota counties (Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Freeborn, Jackson, Martin, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock and Watonwan). The district currently manages sixty five Waterfowl Production Areas, encompassing over 13,000 acres and over 2,000 acres of privately owned Wetland easement areas. The district lands provide habitat for a wide assortment of bird species including Bluebird, Bobolink, Egrets, Great Blue Heron, Meadowlark, and Trumpeter Swans.

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Missouri
Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
The Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge was established in 1994. Currently the refuge has acquired 10,000 of its authorized 60,000 acres of flood plains and adjacent lands on the lower Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri. Refuge acquisitions to date have come from eight counties along the Missouri River from St. Louis County to Jackson County Missouri. The refuge is located in the middle of a major migration corridor for waterfowl and other migratory birds and a wide variety of waterfowl and shorebirds can be found here.

Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge
The Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1964 on 3,750 acres of Mississippi River flood plain in Pike County, Missouri. Refuge objectives include providing habitat and sanctuary for migratory shorebirds, marsh birds and waterfowl. Currently, over 200 species of migratory birds regularly visit the refuge, including bald eagles, waterfowl, shorebirds and songbirds. Many birds also nest on the refuge including the endangered King Rail and a pair of Bald Eagles.

Great River National Wildlife Refuge
The Great River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1958 and currently manages approximately 15,000 acres spread over 100 miles of the Mississippi River in the states of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. Located in the Mississippi Flyway, the refuge objectives include providing habitat and sanctuary for migratory birds, protecting endangered and threatened species, and enhancing wood duck habitat. The refuge is also home to a number of Bald Eagles.

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
The Mingo National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1944 on 21,592 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, marsh, water, cropland and grassy openings. The primary objective of the refuge is providing a safe habitat for migrating waterfowl and other birds. Several thousand Mallards, Canadian Geese and other migrating waterfowl regularly use the refuge as a resting and feeding stopover. Also, the refuge provides a year-round habitat for a number of species including Hooded Mergansers, Wood Ducks, Bald Eagles, Least Bitterns, and Mourning Doves.

Ozark Cavefish National Wildlife Refuge
The Ozark Cavefish National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1991 on forty acres in Lawrence County, Missouri. The primary refuge objectives include providing a protective habitat for the federally endangered Ozark Cavefish, the Gray Bat and the Brindle Cave Crayfish.

Pilot Knob National Wildlife Refuge
The Pilot Knob National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1987 on 90 acres on top of Pilot Knob Mountain in Iron County, MO. Iron mine shafts on the refuge provide sanctuary for the Federally endangered Indiana bat and Gray Bat. The refuge was established with the primary purpose to provide resting habitat for migrating birds. Other refuge residents include Prairie Chickens and Ring-necked Pheasants.

Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge
The Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935 on 7,350 acres in the floodplain of northwestern Missouri. The refuge was established for the purpose of providing a resting, feeding, and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Over 300 species of birds have been counted on the refuge, particularly during the migration periods when vast numbers of ducks and geese stop for resting and feeding during their journeys. Other species which can be found all year include towhees, robins, nuthatches, chickadees, woodpeckers, tanagers, hawks and Bald Eagles.

Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge
The Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1937 in the plains of north-central Missouri in Chariton County with an authorized growth to 10,795 acres, currently at 7,000 acres. The refuge was initially established to provide nesting and resting habitat for migrating ducks. Recently the refuge mission has been expanded to include Eastern Prairie Population of Canada Geese and current winter populations of these birds range from 10,000 to 80,000 birds.

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Ohio
Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge
The Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1964 in the marshes of Ohio's Lake Erie. Currently the refuge encompasses three pools totaling 2,445 acres. The refuge provides sanctuary and safe habitat for large numbers of waterfowl and wading birds. Up to 70 percent of the Mississippi Flyway's population of black ducks stop to rest in Lake Erie marshes during the fall migration.

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1961 on 5,794 acres of the historic Lake Erie marshes. Ottawa Refuge has been designated as a site of regional significance in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. Ottawa NWR was once part of the 300,000 Great Black Swamp. The refuge provides safe habitat for large numbers of waterfowl and neotropical migrant songbirds.

West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge
The West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1937 on the 82 acre West Sister Island which is located nine miles off the shore of Ohio in Lake Erie. 77 acres of the island have been designated as a wilderness. The refuge was established specifically to protect the largest wading bird nesting colony on the U.S. Great Lakes. Habitat species include Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, and Cormorants.

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Wisconsin
Fox River National Wildlife Refuge
The Fox River National Wildlife Refuge was established initially in 1979 consists of 1,054 acres of wetland and upland habitat along the Fox River in Marquette County, Wisconsin. The primary objective is to preserve wetland and upland habitat for native wildlife species and to protect an important breeding and staging area for the Greater Sandhill Crane.

Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge
Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1915 to preserve and protect breeding grounds for native birds. The refuge is composed of two small islands, Gravel Island (4 acres) and Spider Island (23 acres) which are located in Lake Michigan about one mile east of the northern tip of the Door County peninsula, Wisconsin. Some of the more interesting and more frequently studied bird species on the refuge include Double-crested Cormorants, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Black-crowned Night Herons.

Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge
The Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1912, encompassing the two acre-sized Hog Island in Lake Michigan, east of Washington Island, in Door County, Wisconsin. The island supports a nesting colony of Herring Gulls, Great Blue Herons and a few Red-breasted Mergansers.

Horicon National Wildlife Refuge
The Horicon National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1921 and consists of 21,000 acres of the Horicon Marsh in southeastern Wisconsin. The 32,000 acre marsh, a shallow, peat-filled lakebed, is known as the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States. The habitat is home to over 223 species of birds including ducks, cranes, egrets, herons, marsh birds, and shorebirds as well as several endangered species. As many as 200,000 Canada geese have been counted on the refuge and it also provides domicile for the largest number of nesting redhead ducks in the eastern United States.

Leopold Wetland Management District
The Leopold Wetland Management District was established in 1993 and manages over 10,756 acres of Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) in 16 southeastern Wisconsin counties, as well as another 3,000 acres in wetland easement areas. While the primary objective of the Waterfowl Production Areas is to provide nesting facilities for ducks and geese, they also provide excellent habitat for a wide variety of other wildlife species such as non-game grassland birds, shorebirds, wading birds, mink, muskrat, wild turkey, and deer.

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
The Necedah National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 and encompasses 43,696 acres of the Great Central Wisconsin Swamp, the largest wetland bog in the state with a total size of 7,800 square miles. Primary objectives of the refuge include providing breeding and resting areas for migrating birds and fostering the repopulation of Whooping Cranes. Some of the many bird species which are easily found on the refuge include Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Mute Swans, Sandhill Cranes, Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Mallards, Wood Ducks, Blue Winged Teal, Black Duck and many different songbirds such as the Bobolink, Field Sparrow, Shrub Nester, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, and Wood PeeWee.

St. Croix Wetland Management District
The St. Croix Wetland Management District was established in 1992 and currently manages 40 Waterfowl Production Areas and 15 Wetland Easements for total district responsibility of 6,760 acres. The district Managed WPAs are contained in Burnett, Washburn, Polk, Barron, St. Croix, Dunn, Pierce and Pepin counties on the eastern edge of the prairie pothole region of Wisconsin. Because of the unusually diverse habitats within the refuge, in addition to its primary mission of providing suitable breeding and nesting habitats for waterfowl, it also provides sanctuary for a large number and assortment of other wild bird species.

Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge
The Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1936 and consists of 6,226 acres within the Mississippi flyway, along the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin. The refuge provides habitat and sanctuary for a large assortment of wild birds including Bald eagle, Sandhill Crane, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Pileated Woodpecker, American White Pelican and scores of migrating ducks, geese and songbirds.

Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge
The Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1999 and when the lands are all fully acquired, the authorized size will be up to 540 acres on the lower portion of Whittlesey Creek and coastal wetlands along the lakeshore of Chequamegon Bay in Lake Superior. In addition to restoring and preserving habitat for migratory birds, one of the primary objectives of the refuge is the restoration of Coaster Brook Trout, an anadromous fish native to Lake Superior.

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