Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)

Wetlands at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge looking out from the 40 ft observation tower.
Map showing the location of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Map of the United States

Location Aransas, Calhoun, Refugio counties, Texas, United States
Nearest city Austwell, Texas
Coordinates 28°16′00″N 96°49′00″W / 28.26667°N 96.81667°W / 28.26667; -96.81667Coordinates: 28°16′00″N 96°49′00″W / 28.26667°N 96.81667°W / 28.26667; -96.81667
Area 114,657 acres (464.00 km2)
Established 1937
Governing body U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/REFUGES/texas/aransas/

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a 114,657 acre (464 km2)[1] protected area situated on the southwest side of San Antonio Bay along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in parts of Aransas, Refugio, and Calhoun counties. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive Order 7784 on 31 December 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Aransas Migratory Waterfowl Refuge as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. The name was changed in 1939.

Bird life includes ducks, herons, egrets, ibises, roseate spoonbills, and the endangered whooping crane, whose population has recovered significantly since the 1940s.

Other fauna include American alligators, collared peccaries, snakes, and bobcats, which inhabit the refuge's grasslands, blackjack oak thickets, freshwater ponds, and marshes.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

External links

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