U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Silvio O. ConteNational Fish andWildlife Refuge

Silvio O. Conte National Fish andWildlife Refuge52 Avenue ATurners Falls, MA 01376413/863 0209www.fws.gov/r5soc

Federal Relay Servicefor the deaf and hard-of-hearing1 800/877 8339

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service1 800/344 WILDhttp://www.fws.gov

January 2002

Cape May WarblerS. Maslowski/USFWS

“Enchanted byaccounts of therich diversity ofMadagascar, theAmazon and otherfar away places,we too easily forgetthe riches that live all around our home.” —Edward O. Wilson View of the Connecticut River Valley

Olson/USFWS

C A N A D

Massachusetts

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New Hampshire

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The Silvio O. Conte & & &

Wildl Refuge

Education Centers

Nulhegan Basin Division

Watershed Boundary

Legend

The Silvio O. Conte National Fish andWildlife Refuge conserves the varietyand abundance of native plants andanimals and their habitats throughoutthe Connecticut River watershed.Protecting plants and animals is quitea challenge in this 7.2 million-acrewatershed, where hundreds of speciesand 2.3 million people coexist. Landacquisition, a traditional conservationtool, is limited to a few high prioritysites. The refuge also uses innovativepartnerships to improve conservationefforts, research important questions,foster conservation leadership andeducate citizens about critical issues.

In these ways, the refuge servesas a leader and catalyst to help citizens protect the ConnecticutRiver watershed’s special natureand pass it on to future generations.

Timber rattlesnake

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Cardinal flower

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Bald eagle

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Atlantic salmon

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Working for the

Watershed’sWildlife

The Connecticut River supports theNortheast’s most extensive networkof diverse, high-quality fresh,brackish and salt marshes. Thesemarshes provide vital nurseries formarine fish; migratory pathways forsalmon, shad, and herring; winteringareas for waterfowl; and nestinghabitats for shore and marsh birds.

The refuge conserves these valuableareas by supporting research,invasive plant control, salt marshrestoration and habitat protection.

Where the RiverMeets the Sea

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Black duck

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Osprey

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Diamondback terrapin

Salt marshUSFWS

The Connecticut River and itstributaries provide a specialunderwater home for hundreds ofanimals, including Atlantic salmon,endangered shortnose sturgeon andrare freshwater mussels. Pollution,sedimentation and more than 1,000dams impede these species’movement and survival. The refugedevelops partnerships to build fishladders, remove small dams, restoreimportant habitats, control invasiveaquatic plants and conductendangered species research.

Underwater World

©S. Middleton/D. Liitschwager

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Mussel research

Top: Fish ladder

Right: Invasive plantremoval

Bottom: Shortnosesturgeon

Underwater sceneGilbert van Ryckevorsel

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The River’s Edge

VLC

Isidor Jeklin

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Natural vegetation along theConnecticut River and its tributariesslows flood waters, prevents erosionand filters pollutants. Riverside areasare also critically important asresting and feeding sites forsongbirds as they migrate. Throughpartnerships, the refuge restoresriver banks, controls invasive plants,studies these dynamic systems andeducates riverside landowners.

Bank restoration

Beltedkingfisher

Opposite:Healthy streamUSFWS

Wood thrush

“The care of rivers is not a question

of rivers, but of the human heart.”

—Tanaka Shozo

Scattered throughout New England’sextensive forests are grasslands,sandplains and shrublands. Manynesting birds, some small mammalsand a variety of butterflies and otherinsects depend on these open areas.Unfortunately, these uncommon NewEngland habitats have been reducedby urbanization, wildfire control andreforestation. The refuge encouragesimproved grassland managementthrough assisting landowners withwildlife inventories, prescribed fires,alternative mowing schedules,invasive plant control and nativeplant restoration.

Pastures andPlains

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Robert E. Barber

M. Fairbrother

Prescribed fire

PlantRestoration

Northern harrier

Gray hairstreak

Hay fieldUSFWS

Woods andWetlands

World famous for fall color, forestsdominate the New Englandlandscape. Oaks, maples and pines inthe south give way to mixedhardwood and spruce-fir forestsfarther north. These northern forests,part of a 26 million-acre expanse ofcontinuous forest, support some ofthe nation’s highest densities ofwarblers and thrushes. The forestalso harbors many wetlands, such asvernal pools, bogs, and beaver ponds.Frogs, salamanders, turtles,

dragonflies, herons, loons and duckscall these places home. Headwaterstreams provide habitat for youngsalmon and native brook trout. Therefuge helps owners of large woodedtracts incorporate wildlife needs intoforest management plans. Therefuge’s largest landholding, the26,000-acre Nulhegan Basin Divisionin Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, ismanaged in collaboration withadjacent landowners to provide manydifferent habitats and public useopportunities in a 133,000 acre area.

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Youngsalmon

Robert E. Barber

Sprucegrouse

Bill Dyer

Black-throatedblue warbler

Opposite:Hardwood forestin fall colorsCharles Willey

Dwarf wedge mussel—federally

endangered ©S. Middleton/D. Liitschwager

Northeasternbulrush—federally

endangered USFWS

©Bill Byrne/Mass. Wildlife

Puritan tiger beetles—federally threatened

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Jesup’smilkvetch—federally endangered

What do these plants and animalshave in common? Each has beenpushed to the brink of extinction. Inaddition, five other species in thewatershed are also federally listed asthreatened or endangered. At least68 plants and animals have alreadyvanished from the watershed; morethan 300 other species are rare. Therefuge conserves imperiled speciesby supporting research andmanagement projects.

At Risk

Once there were eleven colonies ofthe Puritan tiger beetle in thewatershed; today there are only two.Researchers are attempting toreverse their declining populations.

The only place in the world to findJesup’s milkvetch is at a few sitesalong the Connecticut River.Scientists are exploring ways to savethis plant, which is threatened byhabitat loss and invasive plants.

Dwarf wedge mussels have been lostfrom more than 70 percent of theirknown sites. Biologists have foundtwo new large populations in thewatershed and are working toprotect them.

Northeastern bulrush occurs on onlya handful of sites in the watershed.The refuge recently purchased one ofthe areas to protect and manage theplants.

CentersOverlooking the Connecticut River,The Great Falls Discovery Centeroffers visitors a walk throughwatershed habitat dioramas [Exit 27from Interstate 91, Route 2 E, turnright at second light, cross bridge,building on right in Turners Falls,Massachusetts].

Refuge exhibits at the Great NorthWoods Interpretive Center welcomevisitors to the headwaters’ region[Route 3, 3 miles north of Colebrook,New Hampshire].

Great Falls Discovery Center

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Montshire Museum of Science

Montshire Museum

Great North Woods Interpretive Center

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LandsExperience the northern forest andwalk the Mollie Beattie BogInterpretive Trail at the NulheganBasin Division in northeasternVermont. The refuge also holds anumber of smaller parcels in variouslocations. Public use opportunitiesvary. Contact the refuge for moreinformation [Nulhegan lands:Route 105, between Island Pond andBloomfield, enter at Stone Dam Road].

This blue goose, designedby J.N. “Ding” Darling,has become the symbol ofthe National WildlifeRefuge System.

Come Visit!

Enjoy a walk along the ConnecticutRiver and exciting exhibits at theSilvio O. Conte National Fish andWildlife Refuge Education Center atthe Montshire Museum of Science[Exit 13 from Interstate 91 inNorwich, Vermont].

Part of a System The Silvio O. Conte National Fish andWildlife Refuge is one of more than530 refuges in the National WildlifeRefuge System administered by theU.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. TheNational Wildlife Refuge System is anetwork of lands and waters managedspecifically for the protection ofplants, wildlife and wildlife habitatand is the most comprehensivewildlife resource managementprogram in the world. Units of thesystem stretch across the UnitedStates from northern Alaska to theFlorida Keys, and include smallislands in the Caribbean and SouthPacific. The character of the refugesis as diverse as the nation itself.