The 57,000 acre Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is a unique landscape with uplands and water features, including a stretch of the Rio Grande River. It provides an important wintering ground for cranes and geese. Refuge staff depend upon and utilize various tools to manage the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge for the benefit of wildlife. Management tools used on the refuge include prescribed burning and managed fire, exotic plant control, moist soil management, farming, and water level manipulation all to improve wildlife habitat for the species that call the refuge home.
A unique outreach program at the Refuge explains to the public how fire benefits the ecosystem and supports the many wildlife species at the refuge. Explore the interactive, virtual field tour through the Story Map and learn about management activities and outreach programs at the Refuge.
Learn more about fire and wildlife management in a shortgrass wetland landscape. View a full version of the GIS Story Map depicting a virtual field trip below.
Created September 2017.
Organizers: Carol Blocksome, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS; Barb Satink Wolfson, Southwest Fire Science Consortium, Flagstaff, AZ; Shaula Hedwall, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Flagstaff, AZ
Supported by: Great Plains Fire Science Exchange, Southwest Fire Science Consortium
