Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Necedah 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 ...
located in northern
Juneau County, Wisconsin Juneau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,718. Its county seat is Mauston. History Before white settlement, before loggers and explorers, the area that is now Juneau Count ...
near the village of Necedah. It was established in 1939 and is famous as the northern nesting site for reintroduction of an eastern United States population of the endangered
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 ...
.


Geography and public access

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge is located within the Great Central Wisconsin Swamp, the largest
wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
bog in the state. It includes extensive forest habitat (
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
,
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
) and large tracts of rare oak barrens habitat. The refuge has a 13-person staff and receives 150,000 visitors annually. It allows for
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, ...
and
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, in addition to
blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...
,
blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
, and
raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...
picking. Refuge operations are largely funded through
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
sales.


Fauna

In 2001, the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership raised whooping crane (''Grus americana'') chicks in the refuge before guiding them to
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 ...
's
Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge The Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located on the west coast of Florida, about north of St. Petersburg. It is famous as the southern wintering site for the re-introduced eas ...
, utilizing ultra-light aircraft to teach the birds the migratory pathway. That population 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. Other threatened or rare species at the site include the Karner blue butterfly,
massasauga The massasauga (''Sistrurus catenatus'') is a rattlesnake species found in midwestern North America from southern Ontario to northern Mexico and parts of the United States in between. Like all rattlesnakes, it is a pit viper and is venomous. Th ...
rattlesnake,
Blanding's turtle Blanding's turtle (''Emydoidea blandingii'') is a semi-aquatic turtle of the family Emydidae. This species is native to central and eastern parts of Canada and the United States. It is considered to be an endangered species throughout much of i ...
, and
wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
packs. In most years the refuge is also an important stopover for migratory
waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...
on the
Mississippi Flyway The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi, Missouri, and Lower Ohio Rivers in the United States across the western Great Lakes to the Mackenzie River and Hudson Bay in Canada. The main endpoints of t ...
.


See also

* Cranberry Creek Archeological District


References


External links


Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
{{authority control Protected areas of Juneau County, Wisconsin National Wildlife Refuges in Wisconsin Nature centers in Wisconsin Wetlands of Wisconsin Landforms of Juneau County, Wisconsin Protected areas established in 1939 1939 establishments in Wisconsin