Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge

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Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
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Cranes in Flight over Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Map showing the location of Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Map showing the location of Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Map of the United States
Location Bonneville County, Caribou County, Idaho, United States
Nearest city Soda Springs, Idaho
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[1]
Area 19,400 acres (79 km2)
Established 1965
Governing body U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov/grayslake/

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.

Geography

The refuge has a surface area of 20,125.08 acres (81.44 km² or 8,144 ha).[2]

Bird habitat

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.

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. USFWS Annual Lands Report, 30 September 2007

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