Ardoch National Wildlife Refuge is a

National Wildlife Refuge The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) is a system of protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency within the United States Department of the Interior, Department of the Interi ...

in Walsh County,

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. It is managed under

Devils Lake Wetland Management District Devils Lake Wetland Management District is located in the heart of the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States. The District was established in 1962 to purchase and protect wetland habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife in northe ...

. Ardoch National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939, and originally consisted of 2,696 acres of flowage and refuge easements and 288 acres of fee title land around Lake Ardoch, a reservoir. Since then, 80 acres of easement land have been deleted and an additional 20 acres of fee title land has been added. This is a limited-interest national wildlife refuge. The FWS has an easement on private property allowing it to manage wildlife habitat, but the land remains private property. There is no public access except from adjacent public roads. Limited-interest refuges were created in the 1930s and 1940s in response to declining waterfowl populations and the need to get people back to work during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Many landowners sold easements allowing the federal government to regulate water levels and restrict hunting.

References

Refuge details

External links

U.S. Geological Survey Map
at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved February 2, 2023. Protected areas of Walsh County, North Dakota Easement refuges in North Dakota {{NorthDakota-protected-area-stub