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Description:
Straddling the headwaters of the Minnesota River in extreme west-central Minnesota, Big Stone Refuge is within the heart of the tallgrass prairie’s historic range. Today, less than one-percent of tallgrass prairie remains. Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge serves as the “keeper of the prairie” by working to maintain and restore native prairie habitat while providing optimum nesting cover for waterfowl and other grassland nesting birds. The refuge serves as a wintering area for white-tailed deer and is a major migratory stopover for more than 20 species of waterfowl. It harbors the only population of ball cactus in Minnesota. The refuge has been designated as a Globally Importantly Bird Area supporting Eastern Prairie Population Canada geese, high waterfowl numbers, and numbers of least sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, and stilt sandpipers. The refuge is a candidate site of the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network. A new management focus has also allowed summer visitors to view bison grazing on the prairie. Directions:
The refuge office/visitor center and maintenance facility are located approximately eight miles east of Ortonville, MN(South Dakota border)and one-half mile west of Odessa, MN. From Highway 7/75 take Big Stone County Road #19 south approximately three quarters of a mile.
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