Grasslands Wildlife Management Area

Grasslands Wildlife Management Area
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location	Merced County, California, United States
Nearest city	Los Banos
Coordinates	37°9′40″N 120°36′15″W / 37.16111°N 120.60417°W / 37.16111; -120.60417
Area	70,000 acres (280 km2)
Established	1979
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Official website
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Grassland Ecological Area (GEA)
Designated	February 2, 2005
Reference no.	1451[1]

Grasslands Wildlife Management Area lies within the San Joaquin River basin in California and supports the largest remaining block of wetlands in the Central Valley, containing 70,000 acres (280 km²) of private wetlands and associated, and surrounding 53,000 acres (210 km²) of state and federal lands. Perpetual conservation easements on private lands have been purchased by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Land management activities are the responsibility of the landowners, not the Service. These wetlands and associated grasslands, complemented by two national wildlife refuges and four state wildlife areas, comprise over 160,000 acres (650 km²) and are collectively known as the Grasslands Ecological Area.

This area is extremely important to Pacific Flyway populations of 19 duck species and 6 goose species. The Grasslands Ecological Area has been officially recognized as an integral unit of the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network.

Large concentrations of migratory waterfowl, wading birds, and shorebirds are common and easily observed during late winter and early spring.