Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge

Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	Renville, Ward counties, North Dakota, United States
Nearest city	Minot, North Dakota
Coordinates	48°36′00″N 101°37′02″W / 48.60000°N 101.61722°W / 48.60000; -101.61722Coordinates: 48°36′00″N 101°37′02″W / 48.60000°N 101.61722°W / 48.60000; -101.61722
Area	32,092 acres (129.87 km²)
Established	1935
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge

Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, located 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Minot, North Dakota, was established in 1935 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. The refuge straddles 35 miles (56 km) of the picturesque Souris River valley in northern North Dakota. The Souris River basin figures prominently in the cultural and natural history of the North American mid-continent plains and prairies.

The 32,092-acre (129.87 km²) refuge includes a narrow band of river bottom woodlands, fertile floodplains, native mixed-grass hills, and steep, shrub-covered coulees. The focal point of the refuge is the 9,600-acre (39 km²) Lake Darling, a reservoir created by the Lake Darling Dam, which was constructed in 1936 to provide water to downstream marshes on J. Clark Salyer and Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuges.

The American Bird Conservancy has designated the refuge as a Globally Important Bird Area. Lake Darling is also designated as critical habitat for the endangered piping plover.

Bird watchers come from across the nation to search for small grassland nesting bird species including Baird's, Le Conte's, and Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrows, as well as the Sprague's pipit.

References

Refuge website

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

External links

Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. ND-3, "Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge Dams, Souris River Basin, Foxholm vicinity, Ward County, ND"
HAER No. ND-3-A, "Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 83"
HAER No. ND-3-B, "Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 87"
HAER No. ND-3-C, "Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 96"

Protected areas of North Dakota

National Parks	Theodore Roosevelt

National Historic Sites	Fort Union Trading Post Knife River Indian Villages

National Wildlife Refuges	Appert Lake Ardoch Arrowwood Audubon Bone Hill Creek Brumba Buffalo Lake Camp Lake Canfield Lake Chase Lake Cottonwood Lake Dakota Lake Des Lacs Florence Lake Halfway Lake Hiddenwood Hobart Lake Hutchinson Lake J. Clark Salyer Johnson Lake Kellys Slough Lake Alice Lake George Lake Ilo Lake Nettie Lake Otis Lake Patricia Lake Zahl Lambs Lake Little Goose Long Lake Lords Lake Lost Lake Maple River McLean Pleasant Lake Pretty Rock Rabb Lake Rock Lake Rose Lake School Section Lake Shell Lake Sheyenne Lake Sibley Lake Silver Lake Slade Snyder Lake Springwater Stewart Lake Stoney Slough Storm Lake Stump Lake Sullys Hill National Game Preserve Sunburst Lake Tewaukon Tomahawk Upper Souris White Lake Wild Rice Willow Lake Wintering River Wood Lake

National Grasslands	Cedar River Dakota Prairie Little Missouri Sheyenne

U.S. Wilderness Areas	Chase Lake Lostwood Theodore Roosevelt

Other Federal	International Peace Garden North Country National Scenic Trail

State	Parks Beaver Lake Cross Ranch Fort Abraham Fort Ransom Fort Stevenson Grahams Island Icelandic Lake Metigoshe Lake Sakakawea Lewis and Clark Little Missouri Sully Creek Turtle River Recreation areas Butte Saint Paul Crow Flies High Black Tiger Bay Doyle Memorial Indian Hills Little Metigoshe Pelican Point Pembina Gorge

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

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