Maple River National Wildlife Refuge is a

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 ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. It is managed under Kulm Wetland Management District. Maple River National Wildlife Refuge was established by

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

8162, signed on June 12, 1939 by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. The Refuge boundaries encompass of private land. A system of management

easement An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...

s allows the District flood land within the river channel and to restrict

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

and other harassment of wildlife. The District manages two

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s on Maple River National Wildlife Refuge. A low level dam on the Maple River raises the level of Maple River and floods an adjacent

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

area. A dam on Maple River marsh holds water in the marsh as flow in Maple River drops following spring run-off. Both the river channel and the marsh provide breeding, nesting and brood rearing habitat for many marsh dependent birds and other wildlife. Maple River is near enough to the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

to be part of the migration corridor for many species of birds. Maple River National Wildlife Refuge is located in central

Dickey County, North Dakota Dickey County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,999. Its county seat is Ellendale. History The Dakota Territory legislature created Dickey County on March 5, 1881, with territories ann ...

. From Ellendale the Refuge is located 4 ½ miles east on

North Dakota Highway 11 North Dakota Highway 11 (ND 11) is a east–west State highway (US), state highway in the U.S. state of North Dakota. ND 11's western terminus is at U.S. Route 83 in North Dakota, U.S. Route 83 (US 83) west of Hague, North Dakota, Hague, and the ...

, then north and east on county and township roads. A portion of Maple River National Wildlife Refuge was purchased by the Service in the early 1960s with funds from the Small Wetland Acquisition Program. Lands purchased with Duck Stamp funds are delineated with

Waterfowl Production Area Waterfowl production areas (WPAs) are a small component of the National Wildlife Refuge System. There are over of this prime duck-producing land, mostly prairie potholes in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Montana. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ...

(WPA) signs instead of the familiar blue goose Refuge sign. Refuge portions of Maple River National Wildlife Refuge are closed to all public use. Portions of the Refuge owned by the Service and marked with WPA signs are open to public use. Hunting, wildlife observation and photography are available to the public on the WPA part of the Refuge.

References

Kulm Westland Management District: Limited-interest National Wildlife Refuges
- includes Maple River National Wildlife Refuge {{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in North Dakota Protected areas of Dickey County, North Dakota Protected areas established in 1939 Easement refuges in North Dakota 1939 establishments in North Dakota Wetlands of North Dakota Landforms of Dickey County, North Dakota