Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge is a sanctuary from the type of a National Wildlife Refuge in Washington County in the US state of Maine . It is one of the northernmost and easternmost bird sanctuaries on the Atlantic Flyway , a bird migration route that follows the east coast of North America. The reserve is an important resting and nesting place for numerous bird species, including waders , shorebirds, songbirds and birds of prey.

geography

The reserve consists of two areas that are about 30 kilometers apart. The 81 km² Barring Division is located southwest of Calais . The 35 km² Edmunds Division is between Dennysville and Whiting and borders on Cobscook Bay . The protected area consists of different landscape forms, hills, isolated rocks, rivers, lakes, moors and wet meadows. The northern Barring Division is forested with aspen, maple, birch, spruce and fir trees, and there are also stately Weymouth pines here and there. The Edmunds Division has a rocky coastline 29 kilometers long with a high tidal range averaging seven meters.

Flora and fauna

The protected area provides habitat for a wide variety of animal species, many of which require coppice forest as a habitat. That is why part of the high forest is being held down today with the help of limited deforestation and controlled forest fire . These measures resulted in a measurable increase in the populations of elk , Canadian godwit , collar grouse and many songbird species. In both departments there is a wilderness area , which together cover about a third of the area of ​​the protected area and which are protected from any human interference. Bald eagles live in both departments, especially in the Barring Division in Magurrewock Marsh and in the Edmunds Division on Dennys Bay . Ospreys nest in the Barring Division wetlands. The former raft channels and the lakes in the reserve provide habitat for numerous water birds such as dark ducks , Canada goose and common loons .  

Tourist facilities

More than 80 kilometers of unpaved roads run through the protected area, which are open to pedestrians, cyclists and cross-country skiing. The Wilderness Area may only be entered on foot. There is information material for visitors in the protected area administration office in the Barring Division, and three nature trails start here: the Woodcock Trail, the Habitat Trail and the Bird Walk. The reserve staff offer guided animal viewing and various educational programs, especially in the summer, an annual fishing competition for children is held in June and the National Wildlife Refuge Action Week takes place in October. Fishing is permitted in several rivers and lakes, although some areas are closed during the breeding season. The most common types of fishing fish are black bass , American river bass , brook char and chain pike . Hunting is permitted in certain areas during the hunting season.  

history

The area of ​​today's protected area was originally forested and was cleared at the beginning of the 19th century. The loggers also built transport routes and artificial canals to raft the logs. Some of the paths and canals are still preserved today. Forest fires occurred frequently, the last being in 1933. The reserve was established on January 13, 1937 with the purchase of an initial piece of land from funds from the Duck Stamp Program . The Barring Division's boundaries were set on July 1, 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt , who often spent his summer vacations on nearby Campobello Island in the Canadian province of New Brunswick . The Edmunds Division boundaries were set on August 30, 1938. This makes Moosehorn one of the oldest National Wildlife Refuge in the USA. A 359 acre area on Whiting Bay was given to the State of Maine in 1964 for the establishment of Cobscook Bay State Park . In 2003 the Friends of the Moosehorn were founded, a non-profit association for the conservation area.

Web links

Coordinates: 45 ° 2 ′ 0.3 "  N , 67 ° 17 ′ 58"  W.