| Delevan National Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
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| Location | Colusa County, California,United States |
| Nearest city | Colusa, California |
| Coordinates | 39°19′00″N122°06′04″W / 39.31655°N 122.10108°W /39.31655; -122.10108[1] |
| Area | 5,797 acres (23.46 km2) |
| Established | 1962 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Delevan National Wildlife Refuge |
TheDelevan National Wildlife Refuge is one of six refuges in theSacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex in theSacramento Valley of central northernCalifornia.[2]
The 5,797-acre (23.46 km2) refuge is located inColusa County, California,[2] approximately 80 miles (130 km) north ofSacramento.
Thenature reserve consists of over 4,500 acres (18 km2) of intensively managedwetlands and 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) of uplands.[2]
An estimated 1,000 visitors observe wildlife from a primitive roadsideoverlook along the Maxwell-Colusa Highway each year. Approximately 7,000 people hunt on the refuge each year.[2]
More than 200,000ducks and 100,000geese come to the refuge each winter. With 95 percent of the wetlands of the Central Valley lost over the last 100 years, waterfowl have become increasingly dependent upon the refuges of the Sacramento Valley section.
The refuge supports severalendangered plants and animals:giant garter snake, winteringperegrine falcon andbald eagle, breedingtricolored blackbird, and a large colony of the endangeredpalmate-bracted bird's beak (Cordylanthus palmatus) plant.
Resident wildlife includegrebe,heron,blackbird,beaver,muskrat,black tailed deer and other species typical of upland and wetland habitats.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service.
