edit

Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge

Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge is the oldest National Wildlife Refuge in the state of Texas, having been established in 1935. It is located about twenty miles south of Muleshoe, the seat of Bailey County. It is some fifteen miles north of Morton on Texas State Highway 214.

The refuge includes several intermittent salt lakes, some of which have been modified to extend their wet periods. Paul's Lake, on the east side of Highway 214, is spring fed, and hosts wildlife during times when the other lakes are dry.

The 5,000-acre refuge is a stop for migratory waterfowl flying between Canada and Mexico. If sufficient water is present, during the winter it hosts tens of thousands of sandhill cranes. The largest number of cranes ever recorded was 250,000, during February, 1981.

The cranes are most visible at dawn and at dusk, as they leave the lakes during the day to feed in nearby fields.

Other wildlife includes wood warblers, meadowlarks, raptors, burrowing owls, blacktailed prairie dogs, jackrabbits, cottontail rabbits, coyotes, and badgers.

The prairie ecosystem includes plant life such as wildflowers, grasses, yucca, cacti, and mesquite. Rangeland management techniques include controlled burning and grazing.

Northeast of White Lake is a small area of white gypsum dunes, similar to those found at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, though these are much less expansive.

Entrance to Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge

Sandhill Cranes in flight, Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge

Upper Goose Lake, Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge

See also

External links

This article related to a protected area in Texas is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v
This article about a location in Bailey County, Texas is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v
v • d • Protected Areas of Texas
Federal
National Parks Big Bend • Guadalupe Mountains
National Monuments and Memorials Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument • Chamizal National Memorial
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites El Orcoquisac Archeological District • Fort Davis National Historic Site • Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park • Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park • San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
National Historic Trails El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail
National Recreation Areas Amistad • Lake Meredith
National Wildlife Refuges Anahuac • Aransas • Attwater Prairie Chicken • Balcones Canyonlands • Big Boggy • Brazoria • Buffalo Lake • Grulla • Hagerman • Laguna Atascosa • Lower Rio Grande Valley • McFaddin • Muleshoe • San Bernard • Santa Ana • Texas Point • Trinity River
National Forests Angelina • Davy Crockett • Sabine • Sam Houston
National Grasslands Caddo • Lyndon B. Johnson • McClellan Creek • Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas Big Thicket National Preserve • Padre Island National Seashore • Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River
State
State Parks and Natural Areas Abilene • Atlanta • Balmorhea • Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center • Bastrop • Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley • Big Bend Ranch • Big Spring • Blanco • Boca Chica • Bonham • Brazos Bend • Buescher • Caddo Lake • Caprock Canyons • Cedar Hill • Choke Canyon • Cleburne • Colorado Bend • Cooper Lake • Copper Breaks • Daingerfield • Davis Mountains • Devils River State Natural Area • Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area • Dinosaur Valley • Eisenhower • Enchanted Rock State Natural Area • Estero Llano Grande • Fairfield Lake • Falcon • Fort Boggy • Fort Parker State Park • Fort Richardson State Park • Franklin Mountains • Galveston Island • Garner • Goliad • Goose Island • Government Canyon State Natural Area • Guadalupe River • Hill Country State Natural Area • Honey Creek State Natural Area • Huntsville • Indian Lodge • Inks Lake • Kickapoo Cavern • Lake Arrowhead • Lake Bob Sandlin • Lake Brownwood • Lake Casa Blanca International • Lake Colorado City • Lake Corpus Christi • Lake Livingston • Lake Mineral Wells • Lake Somerville • Lake Tawakoni • Lake Texana • Lake Whitney • Lockhart • Longhorn Cavern • Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway • Lost Maples State Natural Area • Martin Creek Lake • Martin Dies, Jr. • Matagorda Island • McKinney Falls • Meridian • Mission Tejas • Monahans Sandhills • Mother Neff State Park • Mustang Island • Palmetto • Palo Duro Canyon • Pedernales Falls • Possum Kingdom • Purtis Creek • Ray Roberts Lake • Resaca de la Palma • San Angelo • Sea Rim • Sheldon Lake • South Llano River • Stephen F. Austin • Tyler • Village Creek • Walter Umphrey • Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites Acton • Admiral Nimitz • Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos • Battleship TEXAS • Caddoan Mounds • Casa Navarro • Confederate Reunion Grounds • Eisenhower Birthplace • Fanthorp Inn • Fannin Battleground • Fort Griffin • Fort Lancaster • Fort Leaton • Fort McKavett • Fort Richardson • Fulton Mansion • Goliad • Hueco Tanks • Kreische Brewery • Landmark Inn • Levi Jordan Plantation • Lipantitlan • Lyndon B. Johnson • Magoffin Homestead • Mission Espiritu Santo • Mission Rosario • Monument Hill • Penn Farm • Point Isabel Lighthouse • Sabine Pass Battleground • Sam Bell Maxey House • Samuel T. Rayburn House • San Felipe • San Jacinto Battleground • Sauer-Beckmann Farm • Sebastopol House • Seminole Canyon • Starr Family Home • Varner•Hogg Plantation • Washington-on-the-Brazos • Zaragosa Birthplace
State Forests E.O. Siecke • I.D. Fairchild • John Henry Kirby • Masterson • W. Goodrich Jones
State Wildlife Trails Great Texas Coastal • Heart of Texas • Panhandle Plains • Prairies and Pineywoods
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Categories: National Wildlife Refuges in Texas | National Natural Landmarks in Texas | Bailey County, Texas | Texas geography stubs | Southern United States protected area stubs | Texas Panhandle geography stubs

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Mon Nov 15 16:58:02 2010.
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.