Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge

Straddling the headwaters of the Minnesota River in extreme west-central Minnesota, Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge is within the heart of the tallgrass prairie's historic range. Today, less than one-percent of tallgrass prairie remains.

Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
An entrance sign marker at Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge
Map of the United States
Location	Big Stone County, Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, United States
Nearest city	Ortonville, Minnesota
Coordinates	45.242°N 96.347°W / 45.242; -96.347[1]
Area	11,586 acres (46.89 km²)
Established	1975
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge

Big Stone Refuge serves as the "keeper of the prairie" by working to maintain and restore native prairie habitat while providing optimum nesting cover for waterfowl and other grassland nesting birds. The refuge contains 11,521 acres (46.62 km²): 1,028 acres in Big Stone County and 10,493 acres (42.46 km²) in Lac qui Parle County. The refuge is located in Minnesota's 7th congressional district.

The primary refuge purposes stated in authorizing documents are flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation. The refuge's principal objective is to provide optimum nesting cover for ground-nesting waterfowl production. Approximately 30,000 people visit the refuge annually.

References

website

"Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (Fws)". protectedplanet.net. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
"Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (Fws)". protectedplanet.net. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2011-12-12.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Protected areas of Minnesota

National

Parks	Voyageurs
Monuments	Grand Portage Pipestone
Rivers	Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
Scenic Trails	North Country Trail
Wildlife Refuges	Agassiz Big Stone Crane Meadows Glacial Ridge Hamden Slough Mille Lacs Minnesota Valley Northern Tallgrass Prairie Rice Lake Rydell Sherburne Tamarac Upper Mississippi River
Wetland Management Districts	Big Stone Detroit Lakes Fergus Falls Litchfield Minnesota Valley Morris Windom
Forests	Chippewa Superior
Natural Landmarks	Ancient River Warren Channel Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve Itasca Natural Area Keeley Creek Natural Area Lac la Croix Research Natural Area Lake Agassiz Peatlands Natural Area Pine Point Research Natural Area Upper Red Lake Peatland
Wilderness	Agassiz Boundary Waters Canoe Area Tamarac

State

Parks	Afton Banning Bear Head Lake Beaver Creek Valley Big Stone Lake Blue Mounds Buffalo River Camden Carley Cascade River Charles A. Lindbergh Crow Wing Father Hennepin Flandrau Forestville Mystery Cave Fort Ridgely Fort Snelling Franz Jevne Frontenac George H. Crosby Manitou Glacial Lakes Glendalough Gooseberry Falls Grand Portage Great River Bluffs Hayes Lake Hill-Annex Mine Interstate Itasca Jay Cooke John A. Latsch Judge C. R. Magney Kilen Woods Lac qui Parle Lake Bemidji Lake Bronson Lake Carlos Lake Louise Lake Maria Lake Shetek Lake Vermilion Maplewood McCarthy Beach Mille Lacs Kathio Minneopa Monson Lake Moose Lake Myre-Big Island Nerstrand-Big Woods Old Mill Rice Lake Saint Croix Sakatah Lake Savanna Portage Scenic Schoolcraft Sibley Soudan Underground Mine Split Rock Creek Split Rock Lighthouse Temperance River Tettegouche Upper Sioux Agency Whitewater Wild River William O'Brien Zippel Bay
Recreation Areas	Big Bog Cuyuna Country Garden Island Greenleaf Lake Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle La Salle Lake Minnesota Valley Red River Saint Croix Islands
Waysides	Caribou Falls Devils Track Falls Flood Bay Inspiration Peak Joseph R. Brown Kodonce River Ray Berglund St. Croix Boom Site Sam Brown Memorial
Forests	Badoura Battleground Bear Island Beltrami Island Big Fork Birch Lakes Blackduck Bowstring Buena Vista Burntside Centennial Chengwatana Cloquet Valley Crow Wing D.A.R. Emily Finland Fond du Lac Foot Hills General C. C. Andrews George Washington Golden Anniversary Grand Portage Hill River Huntersville Insula Lake Jeanette Kabetogama Koochiching Lake Isabella Lake of the Woods Land O'Lakes Lost River Lyons Mississippi Headwaters Nemadji Northwest Angle Pat Bayle Remer Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood Rum River Saint Croix Sand Dunes Savanna Smokey Bear Smoky Hills Snake River Solana Sturgeon River Two Inlets Waukenabo Wealthwood Welsh Lake White Earth Whiteface River
Scientific and Natural Areas	List of scientific and natural areas

Local

Parks	County and regional parks Three Rivers Park District

Other

Minnesota Historical Society	Alexander Ramsey House Birch Coulee Battlefield Charles A. Lindbergh House Comstock House Folsom House Forest History Center Forestville Fort Renville Fort Ridgely Fort Snelling Grand Mound Harkin's General Store James J. Hill House Jeffers Petroglyphs Lac qui Parle Mission Lower Sioux Agency Marine Mill Mill City Museum Mille Lacs Indian Museum Minnehaha Depot Minnesota History Center Minnesota State Capitol Morrison Mounds Oliver H. Kelley Homestead Sibley House Historic Site Snake River Fur Post Split Rock Lighthouse Stumne Mounds Traverse des Sioux Upper Sioux Agency W. W. Mayo House
Nature centers	List of nature centers
Hiking	List of hiking trails

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.