| Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge | |
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IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
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Cranes in Flight over Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge. |
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| Location | Bonneville County, Caribou County, Idaho, United States |
| Nearest city | Soda Springs, Idaho |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Area | 19,400 acres (79 km2) |
| Established | 1965 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Official website | |
Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge has the largest hardstem bulrush marsh in North America. Located in a high mountain valley near Soda Springs in southeastern Idaho, the refuge and surrounding mountains offer incredible scenic vistas, wildflowers, and fall foliage displays. Lands adjacent to the 19,400-acre (79 km2) refuge are primarily wet meadows and grasslands. Grays Lake Refuge provides breeding habitat for over 200 species of mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians.
The refuge has a surface area of 20,125.08 acres (81.44 km² or 8,144 ha).[2]
The refuge hosts a large nesting population of greater sandhill cranes; as many as 1200 individuals are counted in the valley during migration and staging times. The refuge is a birding destination, and a good area to view the rare trumpeter swans. This near-pristine montane wetland is being threatened by the same type of suburban/rural development that has so heavily impacted nearby Jackson Hole.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
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