USFWS · National wildlife refuge · South Dakota

Waubay National Wildlife Refuge

Waubay National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota, United States. "Waubay" means "a place where numbers of birds make their nests" in the Dakota language. The Refuge encompasses 4,650 acres (18.8 km2) of wetlands, native tallgrass prairie, and bur oak forest that provide a wide variety of nesting habitat for more than 100 species of waterfowl, song birds, and upland game birds as well as 140 additional bird species during migrations. Mammals include species from the ever-present white-tailed deer to the more elusive coyote and the diminutive pygmy shrew. The central location of Waubay National Wildlife Refuge in North America gives visitors the chance to see a mix of eastern, western, northern, and southern species.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge4,633 acresUSFWSSD
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateSouth Dakota
Size4,633 acres (computed from the boundary polygon)
FWS regionRegion 6
Center point45.4202, -97.3358
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 15)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 11 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Waubay National Wildlife Refuge?

4,633 acres, measured from the published boundary polygon. The agency’s own figure can differ where the boundary includes water or inholdings.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Waubay National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Waubay National Wildlife Refuge in?

South Dakota.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Waubay National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 45.420, -97.336. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

How dark is the night sky at Waubay National Wildlife Refuge?

NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 15 on a 0 to 255 scale at the center point, about as dark as the ground gets.

Source: NASA Black Marble

Are there historic places near Waubay National Wildlife Refuge?

11 National Register listings within 15 miles, including Roslyn Auditorium and Zoar Norwegian Lutheran Church.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons; a state is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Description: Waubay National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.