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Located in Montana's far northeastern corner, Medicine Lake National
Wildlife Refuge offers a wide range of wildlife and scenery. The two units
of the 31,660-acre refuge sustain 225 species of birds, a variety of prairie
mammals, reptiles, and amphibians as well as the country's fifth largest
white pelican colony. The refuge's north unit contains the 8,700-acre
Medicine Lake, eight smaller lakes, and numerous pothole wetlands. The
Homestead Unit includes the 1,280-acre Homestead Lake and adjacent grasslands.
An estimated ten thousand people visit the refuge each year to enjoy a
variety of activities from bird-watching and photography to hunting and
fishing.
Medicine Lake is part of the national wildlife refuge system and the long
history of conservation in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt
designated Florida's Pelican Island the first wildlife refuge by executive
order on March 14, 1903. The system has since grown to include 540 refuges
encompassing a total of 100 million acres. Administered by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, it is the largest network of lands dedicated solely
to wildlife conservation. Medicine Lake joined this heritage in 1935 under
an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1937
Roosevelt assigned a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp to provide
labor for the improvement of the refuge's infrastructure. Excitement in
Sheridan County grew as construction of the camp began in May 1937. The
camp received a BF-2 designation, which focused its efforts on wildlife
preservation and placed it under the direction of the Bureau of Biological
Survey.
Prompted by concerns about rapidly diminishing duck and geese populations,
work at the camp centered on developing a migratory waterfowl refuge through
the propagation of waterfowl and improvement of breeding habitat. Under
the direction of the Bureau of Biological Survey, the men of Company 4750
from North Dakota, the main CCC company stationed at the camp, hauled
dirt to construct artificial  nesting
islands in the lakes and built overflow spillways, bridges, recreational
areas, shelters,
a hundred-foot-tall lookout tower, equipment sheds, truck trails, and
garages. They also planted trees and shrubs and sowed more than eighty
acres of aquatic food and cover plants. To the dismay of Sheridan County
residents, however, the government ordered the closure of the Medicine
Lake camp in 1941 to divert money and manpower to the war effort. Residents
feared that the work started by the camp would never be completed.
Fortunately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, created in 1940 by the
merging of the Bureaus of Fisheries and Biological Survey, took over the
efforts of the CCC, and the refuge continued to flourish. In 1976 Congress
established the 11,360-acre Medicine Lake Wilderness Area, which includes
Medicine Lake and the nearby Medicine Lake sandhills, to preserve the
area's wilderness character by limiting the impudence of humans. To this
day, the refuge's goal is to provide habitat for migratory birds and other
prairie wildlife. Refuge staff maintain breeding and migration habitats
and monitor wildlife species. Water impoundments provide a wide variety
of wetland habitats. Although Medicine Lake is the largest natural lake
in eastern Montana, it is shallow, so employees divert water from Big
Muddy Creek into the lake to maintain adequate water levels.
One of the refuge's modern conservation goals is to protect and maintain
prairie pothole habitat, the prairie and wetlands created by the glaciation
of a vast area stretching from north-central Iowa to central Alberta.
Over the past century, Montana has lost more than 50 percent of its grasslands
in this region. To preserve this treasure, the refuge uses management
principles based on the historical use of the land. Burning removes dead
plant material
and litter and can control unwanted plant species. Since
the area was once home to buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope herds, grazing
is another management tool. Today the refuge allows cattle grazing under
a permit system, and area farmers hay sections of the refuge. Like ?re
and grazing, the haying rejuvenates older grasslands by removing dead
vegetation and opening up the grass canopy.
The central feature of the refuge, however, is the diversity and abundance
of waterfowl and prairie birds. In fact, the American Bird Conservancy
recently designated the refuge one of the United States's top one hundred
"globally important bird areas." The refuge is also an important
migration stopover point for many northern nesters, including shorebirds,
white-fronted geese, and sandhill cranes. In October 2003 the refuge brie?y
hosted an endangered whooping crane, one of only about three hundred alive
today.
In addition to providing habitat for migrating birds, the refuge has long
served as a biological laboratory used to restore bird populations. In
1938 the refuge began a captive breeding program to restore Canadian geese
to Medicine Lake. The program was successful, and today more than
a thousand geese breed on the refuge each summer, producing approximately
nine hundred goslings. Another success is the thriving white pelican colony.
Since 1937 white pelicans have nested on the Big Island of Medicine Lake.
More than two thousand pelicans hatch annually. In June 2002, in conjunction
with St. Cloud University and Earthspan, a nonpro?t organization dedicated
to natural resource conservation, refuge staff placed satellite transmitters
on five adult pelicans to find out more about the birds' habits. The pelicans
made routine foraging trips to areas as far away as Lake Sacajawea in
North Dakota, Fort Peck Reservoir, and the Yellowstone River. The transmitters
have also helped researchers learn more about the pelicans' fall migrations
and wintering areas. One of the pelicans spent the winter in Chiapas,
Mexico's southernmost state. The refuge and surrounding wetlands also
provide breeding habitat for the endangered piping plover. During past
years, as many as thirty pairs have been spotted on the refuge.
Prairie birds are also in abundance at the refuge and are much sought
after by bird-watchers. The native prairie grasslands and alfalfa provide
food and shelter for these birds. Burrowing and short-eared owls, Baird's
and LeConte's sparrows, chestnut-collared longspurs, and Sprague's pipits
are often spotted as well as the western meadowlark, the Montana state
bird. From late April to May, wildlife watchers can enjoy a unique experience-the
courtship dance of the  sharp-tailed
grouse. Grouse usually return to the same dancing grounds each year. The
refuge's blinds put observers a mere five feet from the dancing grounds,
making the refuge an exceptional place to witness this early morning spectacle.
The Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge offers a fourteen-mile self-guided
driving tour. Although there are not marked hiking trails, visitors are
encouraged to explore the prairies along the way. The refuge also has
scenic picnic facilities on the west end of Medicine Lake. The picnic
area is a great place for family reunions, school picnics, and peaceful
afternoon outings. Open fires and overnight camping, however, are prohibited.
The Medicine Lake refuge is also open for hunting and fishing. Refuge
headquarters are located one mile south of the town of Medicine Lake and
two miles east of Montana Highway 16 and are open Monday through Friday
from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The refuge is open year-round from dawn to
dusk and entrance is free. Additional information about the refuge, hunting
and fishing regulations, and grazing and haying permits may be obtained
by writing
to Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Medicine Lake, Montana 59247,
calling (406) 789-2305, or at http://medicinelake.fws.gov.
AMY L. MCKINNEY is an instructor of history at the University of Montana-Western
in Dillon.
From Montana
The Magazine of Western History, Volume 54 Number 1(Spring 2004),
78-80; this article is presented courtesy of the Montana
Historical Society. All rights reserved, © 2004.
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