Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge
Encyclopedia
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
located in the eastern shore of Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. The refuge is in Franklin County
Franklin County, Vermont
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 47,746. Its shire town is the City of St. Albans.-Geography:...
in the northwest corner of the state near the International Boundary with Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is the only National Wildlife Refuge located entirely in Vermont (Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was established in 1997 to conserve, protect and enhance the abundance and diversity of native plant, fish and wildlife species and the ecosystems on which they depend throughout the Connecticut River watershed. The watershed covers large areas of...
is partly in Vermont and three other states), and is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
.
The refuge was established on February 4, 1943, under the authority of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act
Migratory Bird Conservation Act
The Migratory Bird Conservation Act of February 18, 1929, created the United States Migratory Bird Conservation Commission to consider and approve any areas of land and/or water recommended by the Secretary of the Interior for purchase or rental by the U.S...
. The initial acquisition was 1,582 acres (6.4 km²) of land in the Missisquoi River
Missisquoi River
The Missisquoi River is a tributary of Lake Champlain, approximately 80 mi long, in northern Vermont in the United States and southern Quebec in Canada. It drains a rural area of the northern Green Mountains along the US-Canada border northeast of Lake Champlain, and an area of Quebec's Eastern...
delta, including Shad Island and Big Marsh Slough. Additional land was acquired over the next 60 years. The refuge's current size is 6,642 acres (27 km²). It is located in the Towns of Swanton
Swanton (town), Vermont
Swanton is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 6,203 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 61.7 square miles , of which 48.4 square miles is land and 13.3 square miles is...
and Highgate
Highgate, Vermont
Highgate is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,397 at the 2000 census. The town is on the border of Quebec, Canada and is a border town of Philipsburg, Quebec.-History:...
.
Wildlife and Habitat
Refuge lands support a variety of wildlife species and habitats including floodplain forest, wetlands, shrub, bog, grasslands, and upland areas.Lands are managed to provide and protect habitat for migratory birds, to preserve the natural diversity and abundance of plants and animals, to assist with recovery of threatened and endangered species.
Federal wildlife laws and regulations are enforced to ensure the protection of habitat and wildlife.
Maquam Bog is a 900 acre pitch pine woodland bog located on the northeastern margin of Lake Champlain, Vermont. It contains Vermont's largest populations of pitch pine, rhodora, and chain fern, a state-threatened species. The bog serves as an important wintering area for white-tailed deer and provides feeding and breeding areas for a variety of birds.
Parcels of early successional hardwoods are rotationally clear cut in 8 - 10 year intervals in an effort to provide a variety of age class hardwood habitat for woodcock. Small clearcuts, usually 100 feet wide, are used on the refuge to create feeding, nesting and brood-rearing covers. Permanently mowed pieces of land adjacent to the clearcuts provide singing grounds and roosting areas for American woodcock. Woodcock, like ruffed grouse, turkey, white-tailed deer and a variety of songbirds all require forest habitat that is disturbed periodically to stimulate regeneration of dense hardwood stands that support declining woodcock populations throughout the east.
Grasslands are periodically hayed, mowed or burned to keep open field from changing back to forest. Many wildlife species benefit from these open field habitats. Waterfowl, bobolinks, and many other songbirds and small mammals use open fields to nest and rear young. Birds of prey such as American kestrel, northern harriers and rough-legged hawks glide over these same grasslands in search of prey such as mice, voles and other small mammals.
In addition to 5000 acres of natural marsh, the refuge includes 1200 acres of managed wetlands formed by three impoundments. Water levels in these areas are manipulated to encourage the growth of waterfowl food and cover plants such as wild rice and buttonbush, while also exposing hummocks of soil and vegetation that support nesting by mallards, black ducks and other wetland birds.
Refuge habitats support the following wildlife highlights:
The largest great blue heron rookery in Vermont is located on the refuge's Shad Island. This rookery fluctuates from about 250 to almost 600 nests each year.
More than 20,000 ducks converge on the refuge each Fall and find habitat for feeding and resting. In the Spring, a small percentage of those use the refuge habitats for nesting.
Most of Vermont's black terns (up to 99%) nest on the refuge.
A significant percentage of Vermont's nesting ospreys are found on the refuge.
Spiny soft shell turtles, a state threatened species, use the refuge to feed and bask from April through September.