Missisquoi

National Wildlife

Refuge

Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge

29 Tabor Road

Swanton, VT 05488

802/868 4781

Federal Relay Service

for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

1 800/877 8339

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1 800/344 WILD

http://northeast.fws.gov/

April 2005

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
There are some

who can live without

wild things,

and some who cannot.

I am one who cannot.”

Aldo Leopold

“

Birds Eye View of

Missisquoi River’s

Bird Foot Delta

USFWS

Cover: Great blue heron

Randy Lennon/USFWS
Upland areas of the refuge are a mix

of open fields and a hardwood forest

of American elm, white ash, white

oak, silver and red maple. Both

provide habitat for migratory

songbirds, resident mammals and

other wildlife.

Welcome Missisquoi is one of more than 530

refuges in the National Wildlife

Refuge System administered by the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The

National Wildlife Refuge System is a

network of lands and waters managed

specifically for the protection of

wildlife and wildlife habitat and

represents the most comprehensive

wildlife resource management

program in the world.

Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge,

established in 1943, is located on the

eastern shore of Lake Champlain

near the Canadian border in Franklin

County, Vermont. The refuge

headquarters is two miles northwest

of Swanton, on Route 78.

The 6,592-acre refuge includes most

of the Missisquoi River delta where it

flows into Missisquoi Bay. The refuge

consists of quiet waters and wetlands

which attract large flocks of

migratory birds.

Missisquoi refuge is one link in a chain

of refuges for migratory birds that

extends along the Atlantic Flyway

between northern breeding grounds

and southern wintering areas. The

refuge provides important feeding,

resting and breeding habitat for

migratory birds, especially waterfowl,

in the northern Lake Champlain

section of the flyway. Refuge lands

also protect the Shad Island great

blue heron rookery, the largest colony

in Vermont. 

Here, the Missisquoi River meanders

through beds of wild rice and stands of

wetland plants such as arrowhead,

bulrush and wild celery. In addition to

5000 acres of natural marsh, the

refuge includes 1,200 acres of

managed wetlands formed by three

impoundments. These pools are a mix

of open water and rich stands of

emergent plants, shrubs and wooded

swamps that offer food and cover for

waterfowl. While refuge waters attract

waterfowl most of the year, peak use is

in the fall, when thousands of ringnecked ducks feed with thousands of

green-winged teal, black ducks and

mallards. More than 20,000 ducks visit

the refuge each year.

Wood ducks

Tim McCabe/S.C.S.

Making the Most

of Wildlife 

Habitat

The management objectives of

Missisquoi refuge are consistent with

the objectives of the North American

Waterfowl Management Plan, an

international agreement by federal

agencies, states, Canada and private

Wetlands Set

Aside as a

Migratory

Stopover

This goose, designed by

J.N. “Ding” Darling, has

become the symbol of the

National Wildlife Refuge

System.

Black duck

Scott Nielsen

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

WETLAND MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

ALASKA

HAWAII

NORTH DAKOTA

PUERTO RICO & VIRGIN ISLANDS

LONG ISLAND NEW YORK AREA

PACIFIC OUTLYING AREA

AL GA

SC

UT

AZ

CO

NM

LA

AR

MS

OK

TX

NE

KS

ND

SD

ID

MT

WY

NV

OR

WA

CA

MN

IA

MO

WI

IL

IN

KY

MI

OH

NY

PA

WV

VA

NC

ME

VT NH

MA

CT

NJ

FL

TN

RI

MD DE

Black duck flying

S. Maslowski/USFWS
Hog Island Road

Campbel l Road

Mac's Bend Road

Shad Is.

Long

Marsh

Bay

Gander Bay

Goose Bay

First Creek

Maquam

C r e e k

Black

Creek

Dead

Creek

Tabor

Missisquoi

Bay Bridge

Central Vermont Railroad

Swanton

Road

Road

West

Swanton

Private

Campground

Donaldson

Point

R i v e r

Refuge Boundary

Refuge Area

Refuge Headquarters

Nature Trail

Boat Launching

Rest Rooms

Dikes

Water Control Structure

Area Closed

Parking

Wildlife Observation Area

Wetland

Old Railroad Passage 

Private land

M i s s i s q u o i

C h a r c o a l

78

78

H

o

g

I s

l a

n

d

N

Lake

Champlain

Kilometers

0 1

0 1

Miles

St. Albans

Highgate

Center

Highgate

Springs

Alburg

Springs

Swanton Lake Champlain

Missisquoi Bay

N.W.R.

Canada

U.S.

36

78

207

78

236

105

36 7

89

89

to Burlington

Maquam Bay

Missisquoi Bay

MISSISQUOI

National Wildlife Refuge

Maquam Bog

Private

Private

Private

Cranberry

Pool

Louie's

Landing

Private

Goose Bay

Pool

Martindale

Point

Long Marsh Channel

Mac's

Bend

Metcalfe

Island

Creek

Saxes Creek

Big 

Slough

Marsh

Burton's Pothole

Private 

Campground

Stephen J. Young 

Marsh

Champlain Street

New Refuge

Headquarters

Old Refuge

Headquarters
also helps protect waterfowl

impoundment dikes from muskrat and

woodchuck burrowing, and from

erosion due to beaver-induced

flooding.

groups to conserve, restore and

enhance wetland habitat for

waterfowl and other wetlanddependent migratory birds. 

A variety of habitat management

practices are used at Missisquoi

refuge to benefit wildlife. Examples

are listed below.

Water levels in refuge impoundments

are manipulated to encourage the

growth of waterfowl food and cover

plants such as wild rice and

buttonbush, while also providing good

ground-nesting habitat for mallards,

black ducks and teal.

Nearly 200 nesting structures are

located throughout the Missisquoi

delta. These nestboxes, cones and

cylinders are helping wood ducks,

common goldeneyes, hooded

mergansers and black ducks increase

their numbers by supplementing

natural nesting habitat.

Haying, mowing and controlled

burning are methods used by wildlife

managers to keep open field from

changing back to forest. Many wildlife

species benefit from these open field

habitats. Waterfowl may nest in the

grassy cover, while bobolinks,

songbirds and small mammals that

use open fields provide a food source

for birds of prey such as rough-legged

hawks, American kestrels and redtailed hawks.

Maintaining a healthy diversity of

habitats at Missisquoi refuge requires

the control of exotic pest plants such

as purple loosestrife and common

reed grass. If left unchecked, these

non-native plants would outcompete

native plants and reduce the value of

refuge wildlife habitat for migratory

birds.

Limited raccoon trapping is used to

control predation on waterfowl and

other ground-nesting birds. Trapping

Enjoying the

Refuge

Recreational and educational activities

consistent with the primary goals of

protecting and managing wildlife

habitat are available at Missisquoi

refuge throughout the year. The

refuge is open daily from dawn to

dusk.

Due to the need to protect refuge

lands and wildlife resources, special

regulations are in place regarding

public access and use of refuge.

The Black Creek and Maquam Creek

interpretive trails provide good

opportunities for waterfowl and

wading bird observation and

photography as the trails pass through

1 1⁄2 miles of wooded lowland. Plan to

take along the trail guide and wildlife

checklists, available in refuge leaflet

boxes or upon request. Insect

repellent may be useful during the

warmer months. Visitors may also

observe wildlife by walking along the 1

mile Mac’s Bend Road from Louie’s

Landing to Mac’s Bend next to the

Missisquoi River. Two additional trails

are located along Tabor Road. The

Stephen J. Young Marsh trail is a

Glen Smart/USFWS

Mallard drake

Belted kingfisher

Denny Bingaman/USFWS

Wildlife

Observation,

Photography,

and Hiking

Signs protect

visitors, wildlife,

and habitat

g

NATIONAL

WILDLIFE

REFUGE

UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY

PROHIBITED

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

AREA

BEYOND

THIS

SIGN

CLOSED

All public entry prohibited
Refuge nature trails are open for 

this activity.

Berry picking is permitted in the bog

off Tabor Road during July and

August. Plan to wear boots and carry

a compass and insect repellent.

To protect wildlife and visitors, the

following are prohibited and subject

to state and federal prosecution:

■ Camping

■ Open fires

■ Cutting firewood

■ Removing plants or animals

■ Littering (state fine: $500)

■ Snowmobiling

■ Off-road vehicles

■ Leaving vehicles overnight

■ Abandoning wild or domestic

animals on the refuge

Please note that dogs must be kept

and controlled on a leash no longer

than 10 feet.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is

the only agency of the U. S.

Government whose primary

responsibility is fish, wildlife and plant

conservation. The Service protects a

healthy environment for people, fish

and wildlife, and helps Americans

conserve and enjoy the outdoors and

our living treasures. The Service’s

major responsibilities are for

migratory birds, endangered species,

certain marine mammals and

freshwater and anadromous fish.

We hope you enjoy your visit to

Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge.

If you would like more information

about this refuge, the refuge system

or if you would like to volunteer.

please contact:

Refuge Manager

Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge

29 Tabor Road 

Swanton, VT 05488

(802) 868-4781

missisquoi@fws.gov

http://missisquoi.fws.gov

Recreational fishing

USFWS

short walk from the parking area to

the Marsh and the Old Railroad

Passage Trail is 1 1/2 miles from the

parking area, passing through Maquam

Bog and ending at Maquam Bay. The

Jeep Trail starts at Mac’s Bend Boat

Launch and follows the river for 2 1/2

miles to Missisquoi Bay.

Boats and canoes may be launched

from Louie’s Landing all season. A

second boat ramp, on Mac’s Bend

Road, is open from September --

November. Boating is permitted along

the Missisquoi River and in Lake

Champlain where it borders the

refuge. Portions of the refuge are

closed to boaters, however, to protect

wildlife habitat. Please watch for and

respect “Closed Area” signs.

Refuge visitors may fish from the

banks of the Missisquoi River. Fishing

is also permitted from a boat on the

Missisquoi River and Lake Champlain

in areas that are not posted as closed

to public access. A leaflet on fishing at

Missisquoi refuge is available on

request. Fishing access is available for

disabled individuals at Louie’s Landing

Portions of the refuge are open to

waterfowl, deer, and small game

hunting in accordance with state and

federal regulations. Current regulations

are available from the refuge office.

Boating

o

Fishing

y c

Hunting 

Cross-country

Skiing

l

U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service

More Information

Pets

u