Completed Plan Contacts

The Service completed this plan
in 2006.

REFUGE COMPLEX EMAIL
longlake@fws.gov

REFUGE COMPLEX ADDRESS

Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex
12000 353rd Street Southeast
Moffit, North Dakota 58560

REFUGE COMPLEX TELEPHONE

701 / 387 4397

REFUGE COMPLEX WEB SITES

www.fws.gov/longlake
www.fws.gov/longlake/wmd.htm
Long Lake refuge & district profile
www.fws.gov/longlake/florencelake.htm
Florence Lake refuge profile
www.fws.gov/longlake/slade.htm
Slade refuge profile

Comprehensive Conservation Plan

Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex

North Dakota

Description | Documents

Description

This plan is for the following units of the refuge complex:

Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Long Lake Wetland Management District
Florence Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Slade National Wildlife Refuge

The comprehensive conservation plan sets the management and use of all units of Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex for 15 years. The refuge complex is in south-central North Dakota. Prairie habitats important to migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, along with many other wildlife species, occur in all units of the refuge complex.

The headquarters for the refuge complex is 6 miles east of Moffit, North Dakota.

Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge

The purposes for the refuge are to provide inviolate sanctuary for migratory birds and serve as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife.

Established in 1932.
Comprises 22,310 acres, including 16-mile-long Long Lake.
Located 3 miles southeast of Moffit, North Dakota, in Burleigh County.

Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge has 16,000 acres of lake bottom habitat; the remaining 6,300 acres are mixed-grass prairie, small wetlands, and cultivated uplands. Long Lake is an alkaline lake that is up to 2 miles wide. The shallow depth and length of meandering shoreline provide vast expanses of habitat that attract migrating and nesting species of waterfowl, shorebirds, and rare migrant birds. Common mammals are white-tailed deer, coyote, red fox, badger, mink, and 13-lined ground squirrel.

WildBird magazine listed the refuge as a top 10 birding site. The refuge is also a Globally Important Bird Area and a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site because of its importance as both a breeding and migratory stopover site for more than 20,000 shorebirds annually.

Long Lake Wetland Management District

The purposes of the district are (1) for conservation purposes, (2) as waterfowl production areas subject to the Migratory Bird Conservation Act except the inviolate sanctuary provisions, and (3) for any other management purposes for migratory birds.

21,789 acres in 78 waterfowl production areas.
3,713 acres in 16 easements under the Farmers Home Administration
102,646 acres in 1,036 wetland conservation easements.
41,181 acres of native prairie in 93 grassland conservation easements.
Six limited-interest national wildlife refuges: Appert Lake, Canfield Lake, Hutchinson, Lake George, Springwater, and Sunburst.
794-acre East Long Lake Wildlife Development Area.
Located in Burleigh, Emmons, and Kidder counties.

The Service started the district in the 1950s as part of the Small Wetlands Acquisition Program to save wetlands from various threats, particularly drainage. The amended Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act allows the Service to acquire waterfowl production areas and conservation easements for waterfowl production.

Florence Lake National Wildlife Refuge

The purposes for the refuge are to provide inviolate sanctuary for migratory birds and serve as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife.

Established in 1939.

Image of the plan cover showing a flock of sandhill cranes standing in a wetland.

Plan cover showing sandhill cranes—fall concentrations often exceed 10,000 birds.

Comprises 1,888 acres, including 1,468 acres of fee-title land and 420 acres in conservation easements.
Located 11 miles northeast of Wing, North Dakota, in Burleigh County.

The refuge includes a 132-acre lake. The fee-title lands comprise 976 acres of native prairie, 201 acres of tame grass areas, 110 acres of lands being farmed in preparation for restoration to native prairie, 163 acres of wetlands, and 16 acres of woodlands. Grasslands interspersed among permanent and seasonal wetlands is quality prairie habitat that attracts significant numbers of waterfowl, along with grassland birds. Common bird species include ferruginous hawk, American bittern, American white pelican, giant Canada goose, mallard, northern pintail, and blue-winged teal. Mammals who reside at the refuge year-round include white-tailed deer, coyote, mink, muskrat, raccoon, and skunk.

Slade National Wildlife Refuge

The purposes for the refuge are to provide inviolate sanctuary for migratory birds and serve as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife.

Established in 1940.
Comprises 3,000 acres.
Located 2 miles south of Dawson, North Dakota, in Kidder County.

Railroad executive G.T. Slade donated land for the refuge to the Service. Slade National Wildlife Refuge is comprised of gently rolling prairie dotted by numerous lakes and marshes formed by glacial action. Tall and mid-sized grasses in a climax condition characterize the prairie. The refuge has 5 semi-permanent and 15 seasonal and temporary wetlands that provide 900 acres of premier waterfowl habitat. Many mammals, including white-tailed deer, coyote, mink, muskrat, raccoon, and skunk reside on the refuge year-round.

The plan

The following are major actions in the comprehensive conservation plan:

Focus habitat management on special status species, especially piping plover, least tern, sharp-tailed grouse, and other wildlife for which the refuge complex provides essential habitat.
Remove shelterbelts and sentinel trees to improve the quality and expanse of grassland habitats.
Make infrastructure changes to improve water management and quality in Long Lake.
Create a visitor center and outdoor education facility to improve environmental education and interpretation opportunities and the quality of these experiences.