Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata counties, Texas, United States
Nearest city	La Feria, Texas
Coordinates	26°11′14″N 97°51′06″W / 26.18729°N 97.85166°W / 26.18729; -97.85166Coordinates: 26°11′14″N 97°51′06″W / 26.18729°N 97.85166°W / 26.18729; -97.85166^[1]
Area	90,788 acres (367.41 km²)
Established	1979
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge

The Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a 90,788-acre (367.41 km²)^[2] National Wildlife Refuge located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of southern Texas.

It is along the northern banks and reaches of the Lower Rio Grande, north of the Mexico—United States international border.

Ecology

Only 5% of the native riparian, floodplain, and wetland habitats remain along the lower Rio Grande and its local tributaries. However, the diversity within these fragments adds up to a significant 1,200 species of native plants, 700 species of vertebrates (including nearly 500 bird species), and 300 species of butterflies. Eleven different biological communities exist on the National Wildlife Refuge, from the Chihuahuan Desert thorn forest to tidal wetlands.

Wildlife include the rare ocelot, northern caracara, Mexican bluewing butterfly (Myscelia ethusa), great kiskadee, red-billed pigeon, Altamira oriole, ringed kingfisher and green jay.

The refuge is designated as part of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, a network of wildlife viewing sites throughout the Texas coastal regions.^[3]

References

↑ "Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
↑ "Annual Report of Lands Under Control of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service" (PDF). www.fws.gov. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. September 30, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
↑ "Lower Texas Coast Wildlife Trail (LTC): Los Ranchos de Tejas Loop map". Texas Parks and Wildlife Division. Retrieved 22 Jan 2010.

External links

Southwest.fws.gov: Official Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge website

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains

National Monuments and Memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument

National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP

National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith

National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River

National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston

National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca

Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Boca Chica Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Texana Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway

State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddoan Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace

State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum

State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

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Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Ecology

See also

References

External links