KANSAS: MARAIS DES CYGNES NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Site Location and Description
Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a 7,500-acre wildlife area located 45 minutes south of Overland Park, KS. The Refuge is named after the Marais des Cygnes River, which runs through the middle of the Refuge and is the dominant natural feature of the region.
Ecological Values
The Refuge was established for the protection and restoration of bottomland hardwood forest. It is the largest and highest quality tract of bottomland hardwood forest in Kansas. The floodplain of the Marais des Cygnes River is generally 1-2 miles wide throughout the area. Flood events are common for short periods in spring and fall and depths may be several feet deep for large expanses of the floodplain. Much of the refuge, which lies above the floodplain, is comprised of forest, grassland, and abandoned cropland. Tallgrass prairie, bottomland hardwood forest, and upland oak-hickory forest sites are found throughout the refuge. River gravel beds on the Refuge provide important spawning habitat for several species, including several threatened and endangered species. The large diversity of plant communities provides for an equally diverse bird population including the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, the Red-shouldered Hawk and the Least Tern. Other resident animal species include the Bald Eagle, Otter, Bobcat, Copperhead Snake and the Northern Spring Peeper. It is considered prime habitat for an Important Bird Area in the state.
Public Use and Benefit to the Community
Approximately 5,000 acres of the 7,500-acre Refuge are available for wildlife-oriented recreation including hunting, fishing, and bird watching. Deer hunting, which is "Archery Only" and is limited by a lottery drawing, is gaining a national reputation for excellence. Fishing is most popular for Catfish, White Cappie, and White Bass. Bird watching is especially good in late spring when nearly 30 species of warblers migrate through the area and in early summer when breeding birds are defending territories.
Threats
Bottomland along the river is in great demand for farmland, duck marshes, and to a lesser extent, pecan orchards. None of these uses provides habitat for species that require mature bottomland hardwood forest. Upland prairies are disappearing rapidly due to over-grazing, forest and noxious weed encroachment, and tillage. Upland sites are also increasingly being threatened by fragmentation due to hobby farms, retirement homes, and other development associated with the nearby 1.6 million population of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.
Acquisition Status
Approximately 1,800 acres remain to be acquired for the Refuge. A 340-acre grassland site was appraised two years ago at the request of the landowner but a final purchase agreement was not reached. The owner is still interested in selling to the Refuge if a new appraisal presents a more favorable offer. A 10 acre mature bottomland hardwood forest site, a 30 acre upland oak-hickory site, and a number of other sites may also be available. Interest in selling of these and other tracts would be more aggressively pursued if a source of funding seemed likely. $160,000 is requested for this land acquisition for FY06.
Public Support
There is extremely strong interest by both local and Kansas City residents to acquire land for the Refuge before the land is encompassed by urban sprawl. Public lands in the area, and throughout Kansas, are extremely limited, and therefore in great demand. Both the Sperry-Gallager Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy support land acquisition.
Habitat
Floodplain
Bottomland hardwood forest
Tallgrass prairie
Species
Pink Mucket
Scaleshell Mussel
Kentucky Warbler
Northern Parula Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Red Shoulderer Hawk
Painted Bunting
Henslow Sparrow
Mead's Milkweek
American Burying Beetle
Bald Eagle
Eskimo Curlew
Prairie White Fringed Orchid
Bobcat
Bobwhite Quail
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