Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge

Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	La Paz / Mohave counties, Arizona, United States
Nearest city	Parker, AZ / Lake Havasu City, AZ
Coordinates	34°16′09″N 114°02′44″W
Area	6,105 acres (24.71 km2)
Established	1941
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Official website

The Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge holds one of the last stands of natural cottonwood-willow forests along the lower Colorado River, creating a unique ecosystem that provides good habitat for resident and migratory wildlife. There are few places where one can stand, look at a Saguaro cactus, a cattail stand, and a cottonwood tree together. This unique blend of upland desert, marsh, and desert riparian habitat provides for a diverse array of birds, mammals, and reptiles. This diversity of wildlife includes the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, Vermillion Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Western Tanager, Lazuli Bunting, Yuma Clapper Rail, North American Beaver, Bobcat, Cougar, Gray fox, Collared Peccary, Mule Deer, Desert Bighorn Sheep, Ring-tailed Cat, Razorback sucker and Bonytail chub.

The Friends of the Bill Williams River and Havasu National Wildlife Refuges is a non-profit membership organization that supports and advocates for the Refuges. They assist Refuge Staff with several of the refuge annual events, strive to obtain grants to support refuge projects, conduct fund-raising activities to support environmental education programs, and help the Fish and Wildlife Service operate and maintain the refuge facilities and programs by providing volunteer labor.

References

• Refuge profile
• Refuge website

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

• Friends of the Bill Williams River and Havasu National Wildlife Refuges
• Bird Checklist for Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge
• Info on Bill Williams River Wildlife Refuge