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Shiawassee
National Wildlife Refuge		 northern cardinal perched on log
6975 Mower Road
Saginaw, MI   48601
E-mail: shiawassee@fws.gov
Phone Number: 989-777-5930
Visit the Refuge's Web Site:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/shiawassee/		 More than 100 songbird species, including the northern cardinal, have been seen on the refuge.
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  History
Continued . . .

The area was an attractive hunting and gathering area for many early cultures and later Native American tribes, like the Odawa and Ojibwa. Ducks and geese flocked to this vast area of wetlands and rivers. Other animals, including otter, fisher, marten, elk, moose and bear were also found here.

The Flats received little human impact until the late 1800s, when the lumber industry expanded to this area. Coal was mined in the area from the early 1900s to the late 1930s. In 1903, farmers began converting the land for crops and, by 1950, a system of pumps, drainage tile, ditches and dikes were in place, making this an extensive agricultural area.

 
 
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