U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

America‘s NationalWildlife Refuge SystemWaterfowl Production Areas:Prairie Jewels of the Refuge System

The National Wildlife Refuge System isthe world’s most unique network oflands and waters set aside specificallyfor conservation of fish, wildlife andplants. President Theodore Rooseveltestablished the first refuge, 3-acrePelican Island Bird Reservation inFlorida’s Indian River Lagoon, in 1903.Roosevelt went on to create 55 morerefuges before he left office in 1909;today the refuge system encompassesmore than 500 units spread over nearly94 million acres.

The refuge system also includes severalthousand waterfowl production areasthat preserve wetlands and grasslandscritical to waterfowl and other wildlife.These public lands became part of theNational Wildlife Refuge System in 1966through the National Wildlife RefugeAdministration Act.

Nearly 95 percent of waterfowlproduction areas are located in theprairie wetlands or “potholes” of Northand South Dakota, Minnesota, andMontana. North Dakota alone is hometo more than a third of the nation’swaterfowl production areas. If wetlandsin this vast prairie pothole region werenot saved from drainage, hundreds ofspecies of migratory birds would havebeen seriously threatened or possiblybecome extinct.

Congress passed the Migratory BirdHunting and Conservation Act in 1934,amending the act in 1958 to authorizethe Service use proceeds from the saleof Federal Duck Stamps to acquirewetlands and uplands as waterfowlproduction areas. This began one of themost productive acquisition campaignsin history—one that would ultimatelybecome a race against the draining ofsome of the nation’s most valuablewetland habitat.

Nearly 3,000 waterfowl production areasnow cover 668,000 acres nationwide.They average 223 acres in size. Thesmallest is less than an acre (MedicineLake WPA in North Dakota) and thelargest is 3,733 acres (Kingsbury LakeWPA in Montana).

Waterfowl production areas aremanaged by the staffs at wetlandmanagement districts around the prairiepothole region. Wetland managementdistricts were created in 1962 as theFish and Wildlife Service’s landacquisition program accelerated becauseof increasing Duck Stamp sales. Eachwetland management district has a staffof two to 12 people, including wildlifemanagers, biologists, technicians,maintenance workers and administrativespecialists.

Wetland management staff also managewetland easements and work withwilling private landowners who protecttheir wetlands. To date, the Service hasacquired nearly 25,000 easementscovering 1.6 million acres. In recentyears, the Service has also purchasedgrassland easements to providepermanent grassland cover aroundwetlands to meet the needs of uplandnesting waterfowl and other wildlife.

While waterfowl production areas,easements, and national wildlife refugesaccount for less than 2 percent of thelandscape in the prairie pothole regionstates, they are responsible forproducing nearly 23 percent of thisarea’s waterfowl. That is why workingwith private landowners through

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voluntary partnerships to enhancewetlands is so critical to protectingwaterfowl.

Nearly 800,000 people visit waterfowlproduction areas yearly. Waterfowlproduction areas in the Huron WetlandManagement District in South Dakotaget more than 100,000 visitors peryear––more than any other wetlandmanagement district. By law, waterfowlproduction areas are open to hunting,and fishing. Other important wildlife-dependent uses allowed include wildlifeobservation, photography andenvironmental education.

Interesting Facts about WaterfowlProduction Areas■ The Blackfoot River, made famous in

the book and movie “A River RunsThrough It,” winds through theBlackfoot WPA in Montana.

■ The Rainwater Basin WetlandManagement District in Nebraska isone of the most important stopoverareas for waterfowl in NorthAmerica. Some 2 to 3 million geeseand 7 to 9 million ducks use the areafor a few weeks between Februaryand April each year as they wingtheir way to their breeding grounds.

■ Dozens of threatened or endangeredflora and fauna, such as the westernprairie fringed orchid, rely heavily onwaterfowl production area habitat forsurvival. The Service purchasedFuller WPA in northwestern NorthDakota to protect nesting threatenedpiping plovers as well as waterfowl.Other rare or unique speciesrecorded on waterfowl productionareas in the West include grizzlybears, mountain lions, bobcats, bluegrouse and wolverines.

■ Waterfowl production areas alsoprotect a large portion of theremaining tallgrass in the Midwest.Helikson WPA in northwestMinnesota contains 1,373 acres ofvirgin prairie with grasses over 6 feettall.

■ Waterfowl production areas areusually named after the owner whosold the land to the Fish and WildlifeService, while a few stick with namesgiven by local residents. Unusualnames include Mosquito Ranch,Humpty Dumpty, Robin Hood, MagaTaHohpi (Yankton Sioux for “ducknest”), Gomer Trout and KickingHorse.

■ Plover WPA, in Lac qui Parle County,Minnesota, had granite bedrockoutcrops exposed 10,000 years ago bya glacial river. It is believed that thisbedrock is some of the oldest in theworld.

■ Jarina WPA, at the foot of the eastface of the Rockies in Montana, is thewindiest waterfowl production area.Fierce southerly winds that reach 100m.p.h., known as Chinooks, roaracross the terrain and tear boltedboundary signs from their posts.

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceNational Wildlife Refuge System1849 C Street, NWWashington, DC 20240

http://refuges.fws.gov

USFWS