The Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States

National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge System 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 system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

System, located on the west coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, about north of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. It is famous as the southern wintering site for the re-introduced eastern population of

whooping crane The whooping crane (''Grus americana'') is the tallest North American bird, named for its whooping sound. It is an endangered crane species. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), it is one of only two crane species native to N ...

s. The Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge Complex was changed to the Crystal River Complex, headquartered at

Crystal River, Florida Crystal River is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,108 in the 2010 census. According to the U.S. Census estimates of 2018, the city had a population of 3,162. The city was incorporated in 1903 and is the self p ...

, and consists of portions of the Chassahowitzka River and Crystal River, as well as what are known as the Tampa Bay Refuges:

Egmont Key Egmont may refer to: * Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark * Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond ** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the bes ...

, Passage Key and

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula ...

. The Chassahowitzka Wilderness Area is part of the refuge, and consists of or 76.4% of its total area. Only a portion in the northeast is not designated as Wilderness. In 2001, the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership raised

(''Grus americana'') chicks in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge Necedah National Wildlife Refuge is a 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 Uni ...

then guided them to the Chassahowitzka NWR for the winter. Despite severe mortality from hurricanes in 2007, the re-introduction 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.

References

External links

*
Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge
Official site
Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge
at Friends of Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge Complex

at Gorp.com

at National Wildlife Refuge Association Protected areas of Citrus County, Florida Protected areas of Hernando County, Florida IUCN Category Ib National Wildlife Refuges in Florida Protected areas established in 1941 1941 establishments in Florida {{CitrusCountyFL-geo-stub

See also

References

External links