Necedah National Wildlife Refuge

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge is a 43,696-acre (177 km²) National Wildlife Refuge located in northern Juneau County, Wisconsin near the village of Necedah. It was established in 1939 and is famous as the northern nesting site for reintroduction of an eastern United States population of the endangered Whooping Crane. Other threatened or rare species at the site include the Karner Blue butterfly, massasauga rattlesnake, Blanding's Turtle, and gray wolf. Refuge operations are largely funded through timber sales.

In 2001, the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership raised Whooping Crane (Grus americana) chicks in the Refuge then guided them to Florida's Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, utilizing ultra-light aircraft to teach the birds the migratory pathway. That population 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]

In most years the refuge is also an important stopover for migratory waterfowl on the Mississippi Flyway.

Refuge Facts

• The refuge has a 13 person staff and 150,000 visitors annually.
• Located in the Great Central Wisconsin Swamp, the largest wetland bog in the state (7,800 square miles).
• Extensive forest habitat (pine, oak, aspen) and large tracts of rare oak barrens habitat.
• Provides hunting, fishing, blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry picking, and other resources to local residents, and encourages tourism.

References

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

External links

• Necedah National Wildlife Refuge