Rapids Lake Education and Visitor Center
Phone: 952-854-5900 |
Not more than 10 miles from downtown Minneapolis lies an outdoor experience as primitive and natural as any state or national park. The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is one of only a handful of urban national wildlife refuges in the nation, a place where coyotes, bald eagles, badgers, and beavers live next door to three million people.
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge was
established in 1976 to provide habitat for a large number of migratory waterfowl, fish, and other wildlife species threatened by commercial and industrial
development. Located in the heart of the Twin Cities metro area, the Refuge offers a variety of free outdoor recreational experiences for individuals and
families. The Refuge also has two Education & Visitors Centers, gateways to over 14,000 authorized acres. The main Center is located in Bloomington,
one mile east of the Mall of America. A smaller Center is located south of Carver. The Refuge stretches over 50 miles from Fort Snelling State Park
beyond Belle Plain, Minnesota.
 Photo Credit - Scott Sharkey |
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge also manages a fourteen county Wetland Management District (WMD), stretching from Blue Earth County to Chisago County. Within the WMD over 2,600 acres of land have been designated as Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA) lands set aside for the production of waterfowl and other wetland and prairie dependent species. WPAs, like portions of the Refuge, are open to the public. In addition, over 2,000 acres of wetlands and grasslands are protected through permanent easements.
The National Wildlife Refuge System contains over 540 national wildlife refuges, at least one in every state, encompassing over 93 million acres of land. Most national wildlife refuges are strategically located along the major bird migration corridors, ensuring ducks, geese, and songbirds have rest-stops on their long annual migrations. Hundreds are home to endangered species, while others host big game like caribou, buffalo, deer, and elk.
Management of the Refuge involves restoring wetlands, grasslands, and oak savannas, enhancing aquatic plant diversity through water level management, grassland management, exotic species control, and water quality monitoring.
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is well known for bird watching. Annual migrations funnel hundreds of thousands of waterfowl, songbirds, and raptors through the valley. Other wildlife-dependent recreation uses on the Refuge and WPAs include: wildlife observation, wildlife photography, hunting, fishing, environmental education, and interpretation.
