Ouray National Wildlife Refuge (also called Ouray National Waterfowl Refuge) is a wildlife refuge

Wildlife refuge

A wildlife refuge, also called a wildlife sanctuary, may be a naturally occurring sanctuary, such as an island, that provides protection for species from hunting, predation or competition, or it may refer to a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected...

 in central Uintah County, Utah

Uintah County, Utah

This page deals with the Utah County. For the Wyoming County, see Uinta County, Wyoming.Uintah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 25,224 and by 2009 was estimated at 31,536. It was named for the Ute Indians, the tribe that lives in the basin. Its...

 in the northeastern part of the state. It is part of the 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...

 system, located two miles northeast of the village of Ouray, 10 miles southeast of the town of Randlett

Randlett, Utah

Randlett is a census-designated place in Uintah County, Utah, United States. In the 2000 census its population was 224, a 21% decrease from the 1990 figure of 283.Randlett began as the site of a school for Ute children in 1892.-Geography:...

, and 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Vernal

Vernal, Utah

Vernal, Uintah County's largest city, is located in eastern Utah near the Colorado State Line, and 175 miles east of Salt Lake City. It is bordered on the north by the Uinta Mountains, one of the few mountains ranges in the world which lie in an east-west rather than the usual north to south...

, within the boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation

Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation

The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation is located in northeastern Utah, USA. It is the homeland of the Northern Ute Tribe, and is the largest of three Indian reservations inhabited by members of the Ute Tribe of Native Americans. It lies in parts of seven counties; in descending order of land area...

.

Established in 1960, it straddles the Green River

Green River (Utah)

The Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. The watershed of the river, known as the Green River Basin, covers parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The Green River is long, beginning in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and flowing...

 for 12 miles (19 km), and covers 11,987 acres (48.5 km²). It was purchased for the use of both local and migratory birds, and with funds provided by the sale of Federal Duck Stamp

Federal Duck Stamp

The federal duck stamp was created through a wetlands conservation program. President Herbert Hoover signed the Migratory Bird Conservation Act in 1929 to authorize the acquisition and preservation of wetlands as waterfowl habitat....

s.

Precipitation is less than eight inches (200 mm) per annum.

External links

• Ouray National Wildlife Refuge