credit: Eddy Edwards/USFWS An unusual number of snow geese visited the Missisquoi refuge this spring.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased 160 acres grassland and forested wetland from sisters Lynn Dee Solberg and Marci Lee Berg in April of this year. The land is now part of the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge near Burlington, Vt.  It is located across the road from the new refuge headquarters and visitor facility. 

"This new parcel has already proven its value to migratory birds," said Mark Sweeny, Refuge Manager. "It's given us a very nice wildlife show this spring".

Unusually high water levels in Lake Champlain have created favorable conditions for some very spectacular migratory bird sightings here. Seven thousand migrating snow geese and Canada geese stopped on the land about a month ago compared with the few seen in recent years. There are also wonderful opportunities to watch and photograph songbirds, ducks, American bitterns, Great Blue Herons, kestrels and many other birds right from the refuge parking lot. 

This parcel will be managed primarily to provide nesting habitat for grassland nesting birds whose populations are in decline in the Northeast.  The property is important to spawning fish such as northern pike, walleyes, yellow perch, and many other species that can access the land from Lake Champlain through a culvert under Route 78.

Funds for the acquisition were approved by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission and were raised from the sale of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp which is bought annually by duck and goose hunters, conservationists, and stamp collectors. Most of the land within the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge has been purchased with these funds.

The now 6,729-acre refuge includes most of the Missisquoi River delta where it flows into Missisquoi Bay. The refuge is one link in a chain of refuges for migratory birds extending along the Atlantic Flyway between northern breeding grounds and southern wintering areas. It provides important habitat for migratory birds, especially waterfowl, in the northern Lake Champlain section of the flyway. The refuge also provides important spawning areas for pickerel, northern pike and carp.

A news release was distributed to media in the Burlington, Vt., region on May 8, 2008.