515 - Audubon National Wildlife Refuge

Completion of the 2.5-mile long Garrison Dam across the Missouri River in 1956 created Lake Sakakawea–a 368,000 acre reservoir. The Snake Creek National Wildlife Refuge was created to mitigate the loss of important wildlife habitat when the lake was filled. In 1967, that refuge was renamed Audubon National Wildlife Refuge, in honor of the 19th century artist, naturalist, and ornithologist John James Audubon who collected bird specimens and painted northern plains wildlife in this area during the summer of 1843.

The Refuge encompasses 14,735 acres of native prairie, planted grasslands, and wetlands. The Refuge lies within the heart of the Prairie Pothole Region, which is named for its many small wetlands that resemble potholes. These wetlands and surrounding grasslands provide food, shelter, and nesting sites for waterfowl and other birds.

Known as the 'Duck Factory' of North America, the Prairie Pothole Region provides important habitat for more than half of the continent's waterfowl and is the most productive breeding ground on the continent for hundreds of other species of migratory birds. This unique Region includes portions of the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, and Canada.

The majestic flights of thousands of waterfowl, sandhill cranes, and shorebirds are visible on the Refuge during spring and fall migration. Endangered whooping cranes are often seen migrating in small groups or with sandhill cranes. Piping plovers, a threatened species, nest in the area each summer. Giant Canada geese, in addition to ducks such as mallards, gadwalls, blue-winged teal, northern pintails, and lesser scaup, are common nesters on the Refuge.