hiking

The Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge was established (along with 3 other refuges in the Willamette Valley of Oregon) in 1965, in response to a need to establish vital winter habitat for wintering waterfowl with an emphasis on the dusky Canada goose whose nesting areas in Alaska were severly impacted by the violent earthquake of 1964. Ridgefield Refuge is currently approximately 5,300 acres of marshes, grasslands and woodlands. Ridgefield Refuge is one of over 540 Refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 94 million acre Refuge System is the only nationwide network of Federal lands managed specifically for the conservation of fish and wildlife. Refuges serve to protect our nation's natural and cultural resources for the people of all ages and for generations to come.