Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/mississippi-birds/

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge has provided a critical habitat to native species since it was first established in 1924. A Wetland of International Importance and a Globally Important Bird Area, the Refuge is notably home to endangered whooping cranes.

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Refuge covers 261 river miles from Wabasha, Minnesota to Rock Island, Illinois, protecting more than 240,000 acres of Mississippi River floodplain.

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Whooping cranes are found in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

“More than 290 species of birds migrate throughout the refuge every year,” the FWS reports. “About 40% of the waterfowl in the nation use the Mississippi River as a travel corridor in the fall migration and the refuge is particularly known to host large flocks of tundra swans and large rafts of canvasback ducks between mid-October and the winter freeze-up.”

It’s also a popular outdoor recreation spot for local communities.

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Development of a large transmission line now threatens the whooping crane’s habitat.

The refuge is visited by more than 3.7 million people each year, for hunting, fishing, wildlife observations, and other recreation.

The Refuge was protected in January 2022 when a federal judge sided with Defenders of Wildlife and its partners in blocking the construction of a planned $492 million transmission line.

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Bald Eagles are found in the vast forests of the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge.

“The Utilities are pushing forward with construction on either side of the Refuge, even without an approved path through the Refuge, in order to make any subsequent challenge to a Refuge crossing extremely prejudicial to their sunk investment, which will fall on their ratepayers regardless of completion of the CHC project, along with a guaranteed return on the Utilities’ investment in the project,” reads the court opinion.

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The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is a Wetland of International Importance and a Globally Important Bird Area.

“We are pleased that the Court saw the Cardinal-Hickory Creek project for what it was: a commercial utility line that would promote deforestation and habitat fragmentation in what must remain a safe haven for wildlife,” said Lindsay Dubin, Defenders of Wildlife staff attorney conservation law. “As the Court decided, the proposed project has no business cutting through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, a crown jewel of the Midwest.”

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Help us protect the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

But the same developers are now appealing the judge’s decision, which means they could potentially be granted permission to build this massive power line through the refuge anyway.

Help urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to uphold protections for this refuge and put a stop to this destructive development!

Don’t let this massive industrial power line development destroy habitat for birds and fish in the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge. Click below to make a difference!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog