Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge |
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73 Weir Hill Road Sudbury, MA 01776 E-mail: fw5rw_emnwr@fws.gov Phone Number: 978-443-4661 |
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Visit the Refuge's Web Site: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatmeadows |
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Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is located just 20 miles west of Boston. The refuge was established in 1947 to provide nesting, resting, and feeding habitat for migratory birds. Roughly 85 percent of the refuge's 3,600 acres is comprised of valuable freshwater wetlands stretching along 12 miles of the Concord and Sudbury Rivers. Well known for its birdwatching opportunities, the public can also enjoy a variety of other wildlife-dependent recreational activities while visiting the refuge. Refuge landscapes inspired the thoughts of such storied environmental philosophers as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. More than a century and a half later, summer recreationists sun themselves along the shores of nearby Walden Pond--now protected as a state park. Paddling through the refuge along the Concord River, canoeists may pass below the Old North Bridge--the site of America's birth that is now managed by Minute Man National Historical Park. Getting There . . . The Sudbury Unit is located in Sudbury, Massachusetts and is open from 8 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. To reach the office and visitor center at Weir Hill, follow Route 27 (1.7 miles) from Wayland and turn right onto Water Row Road. Follow Water Row Road (1.2 miles) until it ends and turn right onto Lincoln Road. Travel one half mile, turn left onto Weir Hill Road and follow to the end. The Concord Unit is located on Monsen Road, off of Route 62, in Concord, Massachusetts, and is open from sunrise to sunset. Get Google map and directions to this refuge/WMD from a specified address: |
Environmental Education Hunting Interpretation Photography Wildlife Observation Learn More >> Refuge managers employ a variety of tools to support the goal of biological diversity. Water level manipulation in the refuge's two impoundments creates favorable conditions for a diversity of wildlife species. The draining of each pool is variably timed to benefit different groups of migrating birds. One pool is drained earlier in the season to encourage the growth of native forage plants that benefit fall-migrating waterfowl. The other pool is drained later in the summer to expose the invertebrate-rich mud flats that provide food for wading birds such as herons and egrets. Both pools are flooded in the fall and remain inundated until the following spring and summer. In addition to providing improved wildlife habitat, the refuge's new water level management strategy has resulted in a decrease of the alien invasive water chestnut. The occurrence of invasive plants (native and non-native), at Great Meadows NWR has a depreciative effect on the value of refuge lands and waters to wildlife. The first step in managing invasive species is to determine the identity, distribution, and prevalence of each species. Refuge biologists, ably assisted by a group of committed volunteers, are mapping invasive species at Great Meadows. Data collected in the field with geographic positioning system (GPS) units will ultimately be mapped and analyzed using the station's new geographic information system (GIS) equipment. The resulting invasive plant inventory will provide the baseline information needed in order to produce a new habitat management plan for the refuge. The same volunteers who assisted with the plant inventory work also collected plant specimens for a new and valuable herbarium at the refuge. |
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