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Osprey nesting platform. Credit: USFWS

Management

The goals of refuge management activities are to maintain the ecological integrity of the Missisquoi River delta to ensure a healthy and diverse river and wetland ecosystem, providing a full range of natural processes, community types, and native floral and faunal diversity. Also, to provide diverse upland habitats for trust species including migratory birds, threatened and endangered species and other species of conservation concern.

Management practices used to benefit wildlife at the Missisquoi refuge include:

• Manipulating water levels on managed marsh units of the refuge to encourage the growth of food and cover plants for a variety of waterfowl and other wetland wildlife species.
• Incorporating haying, mowing and prescribed burning on grassland units to prevent successional change to shrub and forest communities.
• Controlling invasive species in both wetland and upland habitats using carefully integrated mechanical and chemical controls.
• Achieving desired wildlife response.
• Clearcutting small strips of young hardwood stands to stimulate regrowth of hardwood stands and improve reproductive success of American woodcock and other declining neotropical songbirds.
• Implementing furbearer management of raccoons, muskrat and beaver to control predation on waterfowl and ground nesting birds, reduce burrowing damage to impoundment dikes and water control structures and minimize flooding of adjacent private lands.
• Inventorying and monitoring wildlife species response to all habitat treatments and adapting management strategies where necessary to achieve desired wildlife response.

Comprehensive Conservation Planning

A refuge comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) for Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge was completed in September 2007. A Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) is a document that describes the desired future conditions of a refuge or planning unit and provides long-range guidance and management direction to achieve the purposes of the refuge.

To view the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge CCP, please visit our Refuge Planning page.