| Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
|
IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
|
|
|
|
|
| Location | Citrus County and Hernando County, Florida, USA |
| Nearest city | Crystal River, Florida |
| Area | 31,000 acres (125 km²) |
| Established | 1941 |
| Governing body | US Fish & Wildlife Service |
The 30,843 acre (125 km²) Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located on the west coast of Florida, about seventy miles (100 km) north of St. Petersburg. It is famous as the southern wintering site for the re-introduced eastern population of Whooping Cranes.
The Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge Complex consists of portions of the Chassahowitzka River and Crystal River, as well as what are known as the Tampa Bay Refuges: Egmont Key, Passage Key and Pinellas.
The Chassahowitzka Wilderness Area is part of the refuge, and consists of 23,578.93 acres (95 km²) or 76.4% of its total area. Only a portion in the northeast is not designated as Wilderness.
In 2001, the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership raised Whooping Crane (Grus americana) chicks in Wisconsin's Necedah National Wildlife Refuge then guided them to the Chassahowitzka NWR for the winter. Despite severe mortality from hurricanes in 2007, the re-introduction has been successful and by 2010 there were up to 105 migrating birds established in the eastern United States for the first time in over 100 years.[1]