Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map showing the location of Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge
Map showing the location of Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge
Map of the United States
LocationChurchill County, Nevada, United States
Nearest cityFallon, Nevada
Coordinates39°32′30″N 118°29′26″W / 39.54158°N 118.49069°W / 39.54158; -118.49069[1]
Area79,570 acres (322.0 km2)
Established1949
Governing bodyU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WebsiteStillwater National Wildlife Refuge

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States in Nevada. It is located in the Lahontan Valley, near the community of Fallon, sixty miles east of Reno. It was established in 1949 and encompasses 79,570 acres (322.0 km2).[2]

The Stillwater wetlands are well known to birders, as this area has been designated a site of international importance by the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network because of the hundreds of thousands of shorebirds, such as long-billed dowitcher, black-necked stilt, and American avocet passing through during migration.

Also listed as a 'Globally Important Bird Area' by the American Bird Conservancy, more than 280 species have been sighted in the area. These tremendously rich and diverse wetlands attract more than a quarter million waterfowl, as well as over 20,000 other water birds, including American white pelicans, double-crested cormorants, white-faced ibis, and several species of egrets, herons, gulls, and terns.

  1. ^ "Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ "Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Boundary Revision" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. March 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-10-15.