Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex
| Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
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Birds flying at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
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| Location | Glenn and Colusa Counties, California, United States |
| Nearest city | Willows, California |
| Coordinates | 39°25′48″N 122°11′10″W / 39.429863°N 122.186156°WCoordinates: 39°25′48″N 122°11′10″W / 39.429863°N 122.186156°W |
| Area | 10,819 acres (43.78 km2) |
| Established | 1937 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge |
The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex is part of the United States system of National Wildlife Refuges (NWR). It is located in northern California, in the valley of the Sacramento River.
The Sacramento NWR Complex was created in an attempt to resolve the conflict between the needs of migrating birds using the Pacific Flyway, and those of agriculture.
The Sacramento NWR Complex headquarters and visitor center is located in the 10,819-acre Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge off of 99W, and features a wildlife exhibit, bookstore, and Discovery Room. Visitors can enjoy a six-mile auto tour with 3 viewing area and two walking trails.
Before the arrival of European settlers in the 19th century, much of the Sacramento valley was taken up by seasonal wetlands and grasslands. By the beginning of the 20th century, much of this had been replaced by farmland, particularly for the growing of rice, and the rivers no longer create new wetlands because their flow is controlled by levees and irrigation schemes. Less than 10% of the original wetland area remains. Migrating birds have continued to use the area, and resting in the rice fields, consumed considerable quantities of the crop.
In 1937, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, with the aid of the Civilian Conservation Corps, began the process of creating a refuge within dry, alkaline lands between the towns of Willows and Maxwell. This was the original Sacramento NWR. From the 1940s onward, additional refuges were created, so that the Sacramento NWR Complex now includes the following refuges, located between 80 and 145 kilometres (50 and 90 mi) north of the city of Sacramento:
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