Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge

Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge is one of over 565 refuges and 38 wetland management districts in the National Wildlife Refuge System - a network of lands set aside and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specifically for wildlife. The Refuge System is a living heritage, conserving wildlife and habitat for people today and generations to come.Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge lies in the beautiful Souris River Valley of northwestern North Dakota and extends for 35 miles along the Souris River corridor. This Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is an important unit in a series of national wildlife refuges in the waterfowl migration corridor known as the Central Flyway. The purpose for establishing the Refuge in 1935 was "...as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife..." The Refuge habitat is managed for diversity to provide the life requirements of all wildlife. Grasslands are periodically grazed, hayed, burned and rested to provide good nesting and escape cover for wildlife and to rejuvenate the vegetation. Lake Darling, a 9,600-acre lake named in honor of Ding Darling, is the largest of several water impoundments on the Refuge. Its primary purpose is to furnish a regulated supply of water to smaller marshes downstream and especially to the larger marshes on the J. Clark Salyer Refuge, 110 miles downstream. The lake is designed to hold a two-year supply of water to safeguard marshes downstream against the threat of drought. The dam also makes it possible to reduce the flooding and to regulate releases during periods of low flow. Both operations benefit people in the valley below the dam.The proper management of water permits an active fisheries program on the Refuge. This is a cooperative effort between the Refuge and the Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance Office. Northern pike, walleye, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass may be caught in Lake Darling and the Souris River. One successful Refuge management program has been the re-establishment of a resident Canada goose flock. These magnificent birds were once common, but they gradually disappeared with loss of habitat due to change in land use. The first "honkers" were reintroduced in 1940 and the flock has continued to grow into a healthy, stable population.