The Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in

McPherson County, Kansas McPherson County (standard abbreviation: MP) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 30,223. The largest city and county seat is McPherson. The county is named for Civil War General J ...

consists of of mostly

mixed grass prairie A mixed-grass prairie is an ecotone located between the tallgrass prairies and shortgrass prairies. The mixed-grass prairie is richer in ecological diversity than either the tall- or shortgrass prairie. The mixed-grass prairie occurs in the ce ...

Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

and

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

inhabit the refuge. The McPherson State Fishing Lake adjoins the refuge and adds another of protected area, including a lake.

History

In 1859 an immigrant from Scotland, John Gault Maxwell (born 1825), settled in McPherson County. He helped to preserve the

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

and a remnant of the

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

rapidly being

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

. In 1940, his son Henry willed $75,000 for the establishment of a refuge. In 1951, the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge was officially opened with a herd of 10 bison and 6 elk. A portion of the land was set aside for the construction of the McPherson County Fishing Lake."Maxwell Wildlife refuge, a Gleaming Jewel in the Kansas Crown", ''Rural Messenger'', http://www.ruralmessenger.com/kansas-news/outdoors/maxwell-wildlife-refuge-a-gleaming-jewel-in-the-kansas-crown/, accessed 5 Nov 2017

Description

The refuge sits at the southern edge of the

Smoky Hills The Smoky Hills are an upland region of hills in the central Great Plains of North America. They are located in the Midwestern United States, encompassing north-central Kansas and a small portion of south-central Nebraska. The hills are a disse ...

in the headwaters of

Gypsum Creek Gypsum Creek is a stream in Saline County, Kansas and McPherson County, Kansas, in the United States. Gypsum Creek is a tributary of the Smoky Hill River, runs south to north, and is approximately long. The Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, which has h ...

at an elevation of about . The land is rolling, with wooded areas in creek bottoms. Most of the vegetation is

, intermediate between the

tall grass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroac ...

further east and the short grass prairie or

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

further west. Mixed grass prairie in Kansas is associated with areas receiving to annual precipitation.

Wildlife and recreation

A herd of 150 bison and 75 elk roam the refuge. An observation tower facilitates wildlife watching. Up until 2020, there was an observation tower, but it has been removed. Tram rides through the refuge are conducted by the Friends of Maxwell. A road, often obstructed by bison herds, winds through the open range of the refuge. A campground and public use area are located at McPherson State Fishing Lake. A long nature trail is near the southwest corner of the lake. Signs of the presence of

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

s and sightings of

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

are common."Maxwell Wildlife Refuge & McPherson State Fishing Lake," http://www.naturalkansas.org/maxwell.htm, accessed 6 Nov 2017

References

{{reflist Protected areas of McPherson County, Kansas Nature reserves in Kansas