Quivira National Wildlife Refuge Overview

If you think that the state of Kansas is nothing but endless wheat and corn fields, you are wrong. Migrating birds know Kansas for the salt marshes in Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, one of four NWRs in the state. Half the shorebirds in the Central Flyway use 22,000-acre Quivira and nearby wetlands as a stopover in spring and fall. Whooping crane visits at the refuge are eagerly awaited each year. This most centrally located refuge in the 48 contiguous states also attracts human visitors from every region of the United States. And even though the refuge has sufficient rights to the water it needs for 6,000 acres of managed water impoundments, Refuge Manager Dave Hilley is a principal member of a model partnership formed to develop a plan to divvy up the scarce water among agriculturists, residents, and industry.

Located in south central Kansas, Quivira NWR is thought to be near where in 1541 Spanish explorer Francisco Vaquez de Coronado went in search of Quivira, a fabled kingdom of riches. He and his fellow explorers soon retreated after finding only grasslands, a few Indian villages, and much wildlife. But the thousands of waterfowl and bison provided plentiful food for the area's Indian tribes. Then at the turn of the 20th century, commercial hunters began sending wagon loads of the waterfowl they slaughtered to restaurants in Kansas City and other cities in the east.

When regulations banned market hunting, private hunting clubs evolved and acquired large tracts of waterfowl habitat, which protected the habitat from agricultural development. Most of the land for the refuge was bought from 17 clubs whose members became involved in interclub rivalries and disagreements with neighboring property owners.

The main water source for the refuge is Rattlesnake Creek, a tributary of Salt Creek, which empties into the Arkansas River. (The Arkansas River is a major 1,450-mile waterway that extends from Colorado to Arkansas where it joins the Mississippi River.) Ordinarily a docile stream, Rattlesnake Creek can become a gusher, rising two feet over the top of the spillway at Little Salt Marsh.

Rattlesnake Creek flows were diverted by the hunting clubs into Little Salt Marsh, improving the likelihood of year-round open water. The clubs built dikes to divide the marshes among the multiple owners. Later engineering by the refuge resulted in a total of 21 miles of canals to supply water to 34 control areas where water depths can be regulated for optimum plant growth and the differing requirements of bird species. Water depths are, for example, drawn down in selected areas for shorebirds in April and May, and permitted to increase again when appropriate.