July 24, 2012

Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge is one of the oldest inland national wildlife refuges. It was established as a 3,000-acre reserve and breeding ground for native birds on August 2, 1915, by executive order of President Woodrow Wilson. In the twenty-first century, the 11,038-acre refuge is one of more than 540 national wildlife refuges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is an important link for birds using the Mississippi migration corridor.