Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge

Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)

Map of the United States
Location	Phillips County, Kansas, United States
Nearest city	Kirwin, Kansas
Coordinates	39°38′30″N 99°11′00″W / 39.64167°N 99.18333°W / 39.64167; -99.18333
Area	10,778 acres (43.62 km)
Established	1954
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge

Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in Kansas. It was established in 1954 for the conservation and management of wildlife resources, particularly migratory birds. The Kirwin Dam was built in the early 1950s near Kirwin, Kansas, and the reservoir created in the process provides water to the refuge.

Ecology

The refuge is located along the North Fork of the Solomon River in the region where tallgrass prairie meets shortgrass prairie on the Great Plains. This merging of grassland types brings a diversity of flora and fauna to the area. Other habitat types include wetlands and cropland. More than 300 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish inhabit the refuge.

Four federally listed and two state-listed threatened and endangered species of birds can be observed. Twenty-eight other birds of conservation concern use the refuge during their annual migrations, and nine nest there. In ideal conditions, up to a million ducks and geese aggregate there. Large numbers of shorebirds migrate through the refuge in late summer. Hundreds of great blue herons and double-crested cormorants nest in the flooded timber, and interior least terns nest when the water is lower. Populations of greater prairie chickens and black-tailed prairie dogs occur on the refuge.

Recreation

Recreational activities include car tours, wildlife observation, boating, fishing, hiking, hunting, and educational programs. There is a visitor center and a museum.

External links

Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge. USFWS.

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

Protected areas of Kansas

Federal

National Historic Sites and Historical Park	Brown v. Board of Education Fort Larned Fort Scott Nicodemus
National Wildlife Refuges	Flint Hills Kirwin Marais des Cygnes Quivira
National Grasslands	Cimarron
Other Protected Areas	Big Basin Prairie Preserve Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

State

State Parks	Cedar Bluff Cheney Clinton Crawford Cross Timbers Eisenhower El Dorado Elk City Fall River Glen Elder Hillsdale Kaw River Kanopolis Lake Scott Lovewell Meade Milford Mushroom Rock Perry Pomona Prairie Dog Prairie Spirit Trail Sand Hills Tuttle Creek Webster Wilson

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism

v t e National Wildlife Refuges of the United States
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming American Samoa Guam Puerto Rico U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Virgin Islands

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

This article related to a protected area in Kansas is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: