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PARKS AND RECREATION
Fox River National Wildlife Refuge
The Fox River National Wildlife Refuge, managed by staff at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge,
encompasses 1,004 acres of wetland and upland habitat along the Fox River in the Town
of Buffalo. The refuge is closed to the public, with the exception of licensed deer
hunters during designated time periods of the deer archery and gun seasons.
Getting There . . . 
From Portage, take Highway 33 east to County Highway F north;
From Montello, take Highway 22 south to County Highway F south.
Refuge is on west side of County Highway F, across from John Muir County Park.
Refuge objectives include restoring, enhancing, and preserving the wetland and
adjacent upland habitat historically found in extensive areas along the Fox River,
namely Oak Savanna uplands and Sedge Meadow wetlands. Another objective is to restore,
enhance, and preserve the wildlife populations that use the wetland and upland habitats
along the Fox River, with special emphasis on those species dependent upon large expanses
of natural marsh, such as the greater sandhill crane. Other objectives include
protecting the habitats of any Federal or State endangered or threatened species that
may utilize the refuge, such as Bald Eagles, and to make the refuge available for outdoor
recreation, environmental education, and other public use activities compatible with the
above objectives.
HISTORY
The majority of the current refuge was acquired in 1979 for the
purpose of protecting an area known as the Fox River Sandhill Crane
Marsh from further drainage, as well as preserving associated upland
habitat. The refuge was purchased under the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's Unique Wildlife Ecosystem Program. The primary objective
was to preserve wetland and upland habitat along this section of the
Fox River in an effort to support wildlife communities significantly
different from other habitats within the region, as well as protect
an important breeding and staging area for the greater sandhill
crane.
Fox River National Wildlife Refuge is across the highway from a
County Park named after John Muir, the famous conservationist, who
lived during part of his boyhood years in the Town of Buffalo near the
County Park and Fox River National Wildlife Refuge.
WILDLIFE AND HABITAT
The majority of the refuge is sedge meadow, wet prairie, and shallow marsh wetlands
dominated by many species of sedges, grasses, and cattail. However, other wetland
types such as fens, lowland forest, shrub-carr thickets, deep marsh, and open water
occur on the refuge as well. Fens are a very rare wetland type in Wisconsin and harbor
many state threatened and endangered plants. Upland habitats consist of closed canopy
upland deciduous forest dominated by white, black, and bur oak, upland dry prairie,
and oak savanna. Three spring-fed creeks flow through the refuge adding to the
diversity of the area.
This matrix of the many wetland and upland habitat types present provides excellent
habitat for both wetland and upland associated wildlife, such as ducks, greater
sandhill cranes, herons, rails, songbirds, deer, turkey, and bobwhite quail.
Approximately 50 greater sandhill cranes use the refuge during the summer, but more
than 300 cranes use the refuge as a staging area during fall migration.
MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
Wildlife and habitat management and restoration efforts employ the use of techniques
such as prescribed burning, selective timber and woody shrub harvest, seeding of native
prairie forbs, grass, and tree species, and exotic plant control. Hydrological
restoration in refuge wetlands is accomplished via ditch filling, water level
management, and stream course reestablishment. These restoration and management
activities create biologically diverse, native, and productive wildlife habitats.
Parks & Recreation Page
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