Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge | |
---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Brown County, South Dakota, U.S. |
Nearest city | Aberdeen, S.D. |
Coordinates | 45°46′21″N 98°15′9″W / 45.77250°N 98.25250°W |
Area | 21,498 acres (87 km2) |
Established | 1935 |
Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Website | Sand Lake NWR |
Designated | 3 August 1998 |
Reference no. | 957[1] |
Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in the northeastern part of the
History and management
In the late 1880s, the Sand Lake area was settled by farmers. Their agricultural practices depleted wildlife habitat and caused a severe decline in waterfowl numbers. The
The Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in northeastern South Dakota, and covers 21,498 acres (8,700 ha) of wildlife habitat. It is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which covers over 550 such refuges in the US. The system is managed by the
Wetlands
Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge is one of the refuges included in the
Flora and fauna
Large concentrations of more than 260 bird species, 40 mammals and a variety of other species live in the refuge. WildBird Magazine called Sand Lake one of North America's top 15 sites for bird watching.
The main waterway in the refuge is the James River, which feeds Sand Lake and Mud Lake. The lakes were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the New Deal Era, as they built dams on local rivers.[2] The refuge and the James River were considered infested with Zebra mussels as 2023.[8]
References
- ^ "Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge". Department of the Interior. January 25, 2011. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ a b "Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge". US Fish and Wildlife Service. September 20, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ a b "The Annotated Ramsar List: United States of America". The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. January 30, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ "Birding at Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge". US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ "Globally Important Bird Areas of the United States". American Bird Conservancy. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ "Globally Important Bird Areas in South Dakota". American Bird Conservancy. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ Mayer, Eric (July 7, 2023). Zebra mussels confirmed in Sand Lake National Refuge. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
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External links
- Media related to Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge at Wikimedia Commons
- "Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.