The Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

managed by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

as part of the

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 ...

(NWR) System. It is located along

Caddo Lake Caddo Lake () is a lake and bayou (wetland) on the border between Texas and Louisiana, in northern Harrison County and southern Marion County in Texas and western Caddo Parish in Louisiana. The lake is named after the Caddoans or Caddo, ...

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

. The area that currently encompasses the refuge was highly valued in the 19th Century because its loamy soil supported rich cotton plantations. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant was established on the site. In 1993, the importance of the wetlands surrounding Caddo Lake was recognized at the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

, as the area was one of thirteen in the US that were deemed to be of "international significance". The NWR was authorized in 2000 to protect the bottomlands of the Harrison Bayou and to preserve the habitat for migratory birds.

References

Showdown at Caddo Lake

External links

* {{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Texas Protected areas established in 2000 Protected areas of Harrison County, Texas 2000 establishments in Texas