Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a 115,324-acre (466.7 km²)
/ref> protected area situated on the southwest side of

San Antonio Bay San Antonio Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast situated between Matagorda and Aransas Bay. It consists mainly of the combined waters of the San Antonio and Guadalupe rivers, and is located at the mouth of the Guadalupe River, about 55 miles ...

along the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It is located in parts of Aransas, Refugio, and

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois * Calhoun, Kansas * Calhoun, Kentuc ...

Counties. It is situated on the southwest side of the

, formed by the mouth of the Guadalupe River. It also includes nearly the entirety of

Matagorda Island Matagorda Island (), ''Spanish for'' "thick brush," is a 38-mile (61 km) long barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, located approximately south of Port O'Connor, in the southernmost part of Calhoun County. The traditional homeland of ...

, a 38-mile barrier island. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive Order 7784 on 31 December 1937 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 ...

as the Aransas Migratory Waterfowl Refuge as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1940 changing the name to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. In October 1938,

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

Company 880 established camp south of Austwell, Texas. They built roads, ditches,

firebreak A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...

s, and the residence facilities for the refuge. They constructed part of the

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

for Burgentine Lake, which serves as a major resting area for migratory waterfowl. They also graded the road to Austwell.Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
accessed February 12, 2018. Bird life includes

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

es,

roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own ...

s, and 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 ...

, whose population has recovered significantly since the 1940s. Other fauna include

American alligator The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the g ...

collared peccaries The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ...

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s, and

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

s, which inhabit the refuge's

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s, blackjack oak thickets, freshwater ponds, and

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 ...

es.

Administration

The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is divided into five units, with two being contiguous and three being disconnected from the original Aransas unit. The Aransas Unit and Tatton Unit are located on the mainland, with the Aransas Unit being the original section of the refuge. The Aransas and Tatton Units are 47,261 acres and 7,568 acres, respectively. The Lamar and Myrtle Foester Whitmire Units are 979 acres and 3,440 acres, respectively. The largest unit is the

unit, with 56,683 acres. In its entirety, the refuge consists of 115,324 acres, and is the largest Fish and Wildlife Service protected area in the state of Texas.

References

* McNulty, Faith, The Wildlife Stories of Faith McNulty, Chap.6 "The Whooping Crane" (pages 121-309), Doubleday 1980 (Chap. 6 was originally published as a book of the same title by E.P. Dutton in 1966). Much of her account deals with the work of Robert Porter Allen.

External links

*
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: official Aransas National Wildlife Refuge website

Wildtexas.com: Review of Aransas NWR
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Texas Wetlands of Texas Birdwatching sites in the United States Gulf Coast of the United States Protected areas of Aransas County, Texas Protected areas of Calhoun County, Texas Protected areas of Refugio County, Texas Protected areas established in 1937 Landforms of Aransas County, Texas Landforms of Calhoun County, Texas Landforms of Refugio County, Texas

Administration

See also

References

External links