Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in southern Albany County in the

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Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

and includes 1,776 acres (7.2 km²). The refuge is managed by the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

an agency within the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the man ...

. Mortensen Lake NWR is a high altitude refuge and has several small

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

lakes of which Mortenson Lake is the largest. At 7,256 feet (2,211 m) above sea level, the refuge provides protection for numerous migratory bird species.

In 1984, the

Wyoming Toad The Wyoming toad or Baxter's toad (''Anaxyrus baxteri'') is an extremely rare amphibian that exists only in captivity and within Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming in the United States. The Wyoming toad was listed as an endanger ...

was listed as an endangered species and was widely believed to be extinct in the wild. A small population of the toad was rediscovered in 1987 in the area surrounding Mortenson Lake which led to the establishment of the refuge in 1993. Since 1995, offspring from captured examples of this extremely rare amphibian have been released into the wild to help stabilize the remaining population. The refuge is closed to all public access to aid in recovery efforts of this endangered species. Mortenson NWR is administered by Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge in

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References

External links

* Protected areas of Albany County, Wyoming National Wildlife Refuges in Wyoming Protected areas established in 1993 1993 establishments in Wyoming {{Wyoming-protected-area-stub