Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge

The Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge is a sanctuary from the type of a National Wildlife Refuge in Washington County in the U.S. state of Maine. It is one of the northernmost and easternmost bird sanctuaries in the Atlantic Flyway, a bird migration route that follows the eastern coast of North America. The reserve is an important resting and nesting place for many species of birds including waders, shorebirds, songbirds and raptors.

Geography

The reserve consists of two areas, which are about 30 kilometers apart. The 81 km ² barring Division is located southwest of Calais. The 35-km ² Edmunds Division is between Dennysville and Whiting, bordering the Cobscook Bay. The protected area consists of different landforms of hills, solitary rocks, rivers, lakes, bogs and wet meadows. The northern barring Division is forested with aspen, maple, birch, spruce and fir trees, isolated also occur Weymouth stately pines. The Edmunds Division has a 29 km long rocky coast with a high tidal range from an average of seven meters.

Flora and Fauna

The reserve provides habitat for a variety of animal species, many of which require a low forest as a habitat. Therefore, today held down with the help of limited deforestation and forest fires controlled part of the Hochwald. These measures led to a measurable increase in the populations of moose, Canada woodcock, ruffed grouse and many species of songbirds. In both departments there is ever a Wilderness Area, which together comprise about one- third of the area of the protected area and are protected from any human intervention. Living in two departments Bald Eagle, in barring Division especially in the Magurrewock Marsh and in the Edmunds Division at the Dennys Bay. Osprey nest in the wetlands of the barring Division. The former Flößkanäle and the lakes in the reserve provide habitat for many water birds such as dark duck, Canada goose, and common loon.

Tourist Facilities

Through the reserve lead over 80 km unpaved roads that are open to pedestrians, cyclists and cross-country skiing. The Wilderness Area may only be accessed on foot. In the protected area management in the barring Division office there are information material for visitors, start here with the Woodcock Trail, the Habitat Trail and the Bird Walk three trails. The reserve staff offer especially in the summer guided wildlife viewing and various teaching programs, a fishing contest for children is held annually in June and in October, the National Wildlife Refuge Action Week instead. In several rivers and lakes you can fish, with some areas are blocked during the breeding season. The most common Angel fish are black bass, American perch, brook trout and pike chain. During hunting season may also be hunted in certain areas.

History

The area of present-day reserve was originally forested and was cleared at the beginning of the 19th century. The loggers also put on transport routes and artificial channels to instill the tribes. The paths and channels are still partly preserved. Were frequent forest fires, most recently in 1933. The reserve was established with the purchase of a first piece of land by the financial resources of the Duck Stamp Program on January 13, 1937. The limits of barring Division were on 1 July 1937 set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who often spent his summer on the nearby Campobello Iceland in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The boundaries of the Edmunds Division were established on 30 August 1938. This Moosehorn is one of the oldest National Wildlife Refuge in the USA. A 359 -acre area at the Whiting Bay in 1964 left to the state of Maine for the construction of the Cobscook Bay State Park. In 2003, the Friends of the Moosehorn founded a non-profit Foundation for the reserve.