Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge was created to help offset the loss of wetlands throughout the prairies of the Midwest and today provides important habitat for waterfowl in Colorado. To create wetlands, water is diverted from the Illinois River and directed through a complex system of ditches to irrigate meadows and fill ponds. The wet meadows and ponds provide important breeding habitat for many duck species. These shallow wetlands also provide good hunting, particularly for Colorado's first waterfowl season. Since the refuge is at an 8,000-foot elevation, the ponds can be frozen by the end of October. As many as 8,000 ducks will be on the refuge in the fall and hunters can expect to see a variety of species, with gadwall and lesser scaup being especially abundant.
If you have questions, please call us at (970) 723-8202 or email us at arapaho@fws.gov