Location and Contact Information
About Us
Wildlife conservation is at the heart of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It drives everything on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands and waters managed within the Refuge System, from the purposes for which a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge is established to the recreational activities offered to the resource management tools used. Using conservation best practices, the Refuge System manages Service lands and waters to help ensure the survival of native wildlife species.
The primary purpose of Stewart Lake National Wildlife Refuge is to provide suitable habitat nesting and brood rearing habitat for waterfowl, as well as other wildlife. To help plants and wildlife, refuge staff use a variety of habitat management techniques to maintain, enhance, or recover plants and wildlife. Refuge staff carefully consider any management techniques and employs them in varying degrees according to the situation. Several habitat management tools are used to maintain and enhance habitat, including livestock grazing, prescribed burning, noxious weed control, mowing, seeding, and the most important tool for refuge wetlands – water management. Sometimes, sensitive areas are closed to the public so that the land can recover more quickly.
What We Do
Refuge staff use a host of scientifically sound management tools to address biological challenges. At this field station, our conservation toolbox includes:
- Planning – Comprehensive Conservation Plan
- Compatibility Determinations
- Cultural Resources
- Fire Management
- Grazing
- Invasive Species
- Inventory and Monitoring
- Law Enforcement
- Pesticide Management
- Species Research
- Water Management
Our Organization
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages an unparalleled network of public lands and waters called the National Wildlife Refuge System. With over 565 refuges and 38 wetland management districts spanning the country, this system protects iconic species and provides some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities on Earth.
Our Species
An official wildlife inventory has not been conducted on Stewart Lake National Wildlife Refuge, but many of the species would be similar to those found at Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge, which is approximately 107 miles away. At Lake Ilo, 227 birds, 36 mammals, 6 reptiles, and 3 amphibians have been observed.
Groups of waterfowl use the 197-acre Stewart Lake during both spring and fall migration. Waterfowl species that commonly nest here include Canada geese, mallard, northern pintail, blue-winged teal, northern shoveler, and gadwall. Other nesting waterbirds include eared grebes, pied-billed grebes, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, black-crowned night-herons, and American bitterns. Shorebirds such as killdeer, plovers, sandpipers, willets, yellowlegs, marbled godwits, American avocets, and phalaropes are also plentiful. Songbirds such as the western meadowlark, bobolink, chestnut-collared longspur, and several native sparrows can be observed in the 2,033-acre grassland. Some of the resident mammals that make their year-round home here include white-tailed deer, mule deer, badgers, coyotes, and weasels.