Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Cranes in Flight over Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Map of the United States
Location	Bonneville County, Caribou County, Idaho, United States
Nearest city	Soda Springs, Idaho
Coordinates	43°03′47″N 111°25′37″W / 43.06297°N 111.42689°W / 43.06297; -111.42689Coordinates: 43°03′47″N 111°25′37″W / 43.06297°N 111.42689°W / 43.06297; -111.42689^[1]
Area	19,400 acres (79 km²)
Established	1965
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov/grayslake/

Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge has the largest hardstem bulrush marsh in North America. Located in a high mountain valley near Soda Springs in southeastern Idaho, the refuge and surrounding mountains offer incredible scenic vistas, wildflowers, and fall foliage displays. Lands adjacent to the 19,400-acre (79 km²) refuge are primarily wet meadows and grasslands. Grays Lake Refuge provides breeding habitat for over 200 species of mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians.

Geography

The refuge has a surface area of 20,125.08 acres (81.44 km² or 8,144 ha).^[2]

Bird habitat

The refuge hosts a large nesting population of greater sandhill cranes; as many as 1200 individuals are counted in the valley during migration and staging times. The refuge is a birding destination, and a good area to view the rare trumpeter swans. This near-pristine montane wetland is being threatened by the same type of suburban/rural development that has so heavily impacted nearby Jackson Hole.

References

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

Protected areas of Idaho

Federal

National Parks	Yellowstone

National Historic Sites & Historical Parks	Minidoka NHS Nez Perce NHP

National Monuments	Craters of the Moon Hagerman Fossil Beds

National Forests	Bitterroot Boise Caribou-Targhee Clearwater Coeur d'Alene Idaho Panhandle Kaniksu Kootenai Nez Perce Payette Salmon-Challis Sawtooth St. Joe Wallowa–Whitman Wasatch-Cache

National Grasslands	Curlew

National Recreation Areas	Hells Canyon Sawtooth

National Wildlife Refuges	Bear Lake Camas Deer Flat Grays Lake Kootenai Minidoka Oxford Slough Waterfowl Production Area

National Conservation Areas	Snake River Birds of Prey

Wilderness Areas	Big Jacks Creek Bruneau–Jarbidge Rivers Craters of the Moon Frank Church–River of No Return Gospel Hump Hells Canyon Hemingway–Boulders Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Little Jacks Creek North Fork Owyhee Owyhee River Pole Creek Sawtooth Selway-Bitterroot White Clouds

State

State Parks	Bear Lake Bruneau Dunes Castle Rocks City of Rocks Coeur d'Alene Parkway Dworshak Eagle Island Farragut Harriman Hells Gate Henrys Lake Heyburn Lake Cascade Lake Walcott Land of the Yankee Fork Lucky Peak Massacre Rocks McCroskey Old Mission Ponderosa Priest Lake Round Lake Thousand Springs Three Island Crossing Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes Winchester Lake

Wildlife Management Areas	Big Cottonwood Billingsley Creek Blackfoot River Boise River Boundary Creek Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Carey Lake Cartier Slough Cecil D. Andrus C.J. Strike Coeur d'Alene River Craig Mountain Deer Parks Farragut Fort Boise Georgetown Summit Hagerman Market Lake McArthur Lake Montour Montpelier Mud Lake Niagara Springs Payette River Pend Oreille Portneuf Red River St. Maries Sand Creek Snow Peak Sterling Tex Creek

Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation (website)

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