Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge

National wildlife refuge in east central Louisiana, United States

Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge

IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)

Map of the United States

Location| Catahoula Parish, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, United States
Nearest city| Jena, Louisiana
Coordinates| 31°33′00″N 92°02′00″W﻿ / ﻿31.55000°N 92.03333°W﻿ / 31.55000; -92.03333
Area| 25,162 acres (101.83 km2)
Established| 1958
Governing body| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website| Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge

Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge

Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge, located in east central Louisiana, United States, 12 miles (19 km) east of Jena, was established in 1958 as a wintering area for migratory waterfowl. The refuge contains 25,162 acres (101.83 km2) divided into two units. The 6,671-acre (27 km2) Headquarters Unit borders nine miles (14 km) of the northeast shore of Catahoula Lake, a 26,000-acre (110 km2) natural wetland renowned for its large concentrations of migratory waterfowl. The 18,491-acre (74.83 km2) Bushley Bayou Unit, located 8 miles (13 km) west of Jonesville, was established May 16, 2001. This acquisition was made possible through a partnership agreement between The Conservation Fund, American Electric Power, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. The habitat found at the refuge is primarily lowland hardwood forest subject to seasonal backwater flooding from the Ouachita, and Red Rivers. The refuge is located in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Southern Backswamps ecoregion.

## Wildlife

[edit]

White-tailed deer, small game mammals, songbirds, raptors, waterbirds, reptiles, and amphibians are commonly seen throughout the refuge. Waterfowl are abundant during the winter. Peak waterfowl populations of 75,000 ducks have been recorded. In 1979, the Duck Lake Impoundment was created to provide 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) of waterfowl habitat. Management of the impoundment is to manipulate water levels to promote the growth of aquatic and moist soil vegetation. In 2001, Catahoula NWR was designated a Globally Important Bird Area. Catahoula Lake is recognized as a Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar site): a historic concentration area for shorebirds, waterbirds, and migrating/wintering waterfowl. Catahoula NWR also borders a portion of the Dewey Wills Wildlife Management Area. Together, these areas provide a haven for wildlife and preserve representative samples of the unique habitats originally found in the Lower Mississippi River Ecosystem.

## See also

[edit]

* List of National Wildlife Refuges: Louisiana

## References

[edit]

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge

* v
* t
* e

Protected areas of Louisiana

Federal|

| National Fish Hatcheries|

* Natchitoches

|

National Forests|

* Kisatchie

National Historical Parks|

* Cane River Creole
* Jean Lafitte
* New Orleans Jazz

National Military Parks|

* Vicksburg

National Monuments|

* Poverty Point

National Trails|

* El Camino Real de los Tejas

National Wild and Scenic Rivers|

* Saline Bayou

National Wildlife Refuges|

* Atchafalaya
* Bayou Cocodrie
* Bayou Sauvage
* Bayou Teche
* Big Branch Marsh
* Black Bayou Lake
* Bogue Chitto
* Breton
* Cameron Prairie
* Cat Island
* Catahoula
* D'Arbonne
* Delta
* East Cove
* Grand Cote
* Handy Brake
* Lacassine
* Lake Ophelia
* Mandalay
* Red River
* Sabine
* Shell Keys
* Tensas River
* Upper Ouachita

Other|

* National Historic Landmarks
* National Natural Landmarks
* National Register of Historic Places
* Wilderness Areas

State|

| State Parks|

* Bayou Segnette
* Bogue Chitto
* Chemin-A-Haut
* Chicot
* Cypremort Point
* Fairview-Riverside
* Fontainebleau
* Grand Isle
* Hodges Gardens
* Jimmie Davis
* Lake Bistineau
* Lake Bruin
* Lake Claiborne
* Lake D-Arbonne
* Lake Fausse Pointe
* North Toledo Bend
* Palmetto Island
* Poverty Point Reservoir
* St. Bernard
* Sam Houston Jones
* South Toledo Bend
* Tickfaw

|

State Historic Sites|

* Audubon
* Centenary
* Fort Jesup
* Fort Pike
* Fort St. Jean Baptiste
* Forts Randolph & Buhlow
* Locust Grove
* Longfellow-Evangeline
* Los Adaes
* Mansfield
* Plaquemine Lock
* Port Hudson
* Poverty Point
* Rebel State
* Rosedown Plantation
* Winter Quarters

State Preservation Area|

* Louisiana State Arboretum

State Forests|

* Alexander
* Indian Creek

State Wildlife Refuges|

* Elmer's Island
* Marsh Island
* Rockefeller
* St. Tammany
* State
* Terrebonne Barrier Islands
* White Lake Wetlands

Wildlife management areas|

* Acadiana Conservation Corridor
* Atchafalaya Delta
* Attakapas
* Barataria Preserve
* Bayou Macon
* Bayou Pierre
* Ben Lilly Conservation Area
* Ben's Creek
* Big Colewa Bayou
* Big Lake
* Biloxi
* Bodcau
* Boeuf
* Bonnet Carré Spillway
* Buckhorn
* Camp Beauregard
* Catahoula Lake
* Clear Creek
* Dewey Wills
* Elbow Slough
* Elm Hall
* Esler Field
* Floy Ward McElroy
* Fort Polk
* Grassy Lake
* Hutchinson Creek
* Indian Bayou
* Jackson Bienville
* J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert Wildlife Management Area
* Joyce
* Lake Boeuf
* Lake Ramsey Savannah
* Little River
* Loggy Bayou
* Manchac
* Marsh Bayou
* Maurepas Swamp
* Old River Control
* Ouachita
* Pass A Loutre
* Pearl River
* Peason Ridge
* Pointe-aux-Chenes
* Pomme de Terre
* Richard K. Yancey
* Russell Sage
* Sabine
* Sabine Island
* Salvador/Timken
* Sandy Hollow
* Sherburne (See: Atchafalaya Delta)
* Soda Lake
* Spring Bayou
* Tangipahoa Parish School Board
* Thistlethwaite
* Three Rivers
* Tunica Hills
* Union
* Walnut Hill
* West Bay

Other|

| Private|

* Bird City
* Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary

|

City|

* Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

* Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
* Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism
* Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

* v
* t
* e

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

* American Samoa
* Guam
* Puerto Rico
* U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

Other|

* Yale LUX

This Louisiana state location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template