Wapack National Wildlife Refuge

Wapack National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map showing the location of Wapack National Wildlife Refuge
Map showing the location of Wapack National Wildlife Refuge
Map of the United States
LocationHillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States
Nearest cityPeterborough, New Hampshire
Coordinates42°53′00″N 71°51′58″W / 42.88341°N 71.86618°W / 42.88341; -71.86618[1]
Area1,672 acres (6.77 km2)
Established1972
Governing bodyU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WebsiteWapack National Wildlife Refuge

Wapack National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in southern New Hampshire. It was the state's first refuge and was established through a donation by Lawrence and Lorna Marshall in 1972. The 1,672-acre (677 ha) refuge is located about 20 miles (32 km) west of Nashua, New Hampshire and encompasses the 2,278-foot (694 m) North Pack Monadnock Mountain.

A 3-mile (5 km) segment of the 21-mile (34 km) Wapack Trail passes through the refuge and provides wide views of the surrounding mountains.

The refuge lies in the towns of Greenfield, Lyndeborough, and Temple, and is administered by the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Nature[edit]

The refuge protects diverse habitat types, including northern hardwood-conifer, hemlock-hardwood, and spruce-fir forests and woodlands, oldfields, scrub-shrub habitat, and rock ledges with talus.

Birds[edit]

The refuge is a popular hawk migration area and provides nesting habitat for numerous migratory songbirds such as the American tree sparrow, Swainson's thrush, magnolia warbler, crossbills, pine grosbeaks and white-throated sparrow.

Other birds observed on the refuge during a 2002 breeding season survey:

Mammals[edit]

The refuge provides habitat for many mammal species, some of which include:

Reptiles and amphibians[edit]

Some amphibian species on the refuge:

Invertebrates[edit]

Invertebrates on the refuge are a food source for many other animal species. Insects in the area include butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, wasps, and ants.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Wapack National Wildlife Refuge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.

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