Swan River National Wildlife Reserve
- Categories:
- Watchable Wildlife
- Keywords:
- General info
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The Swan River National Wildlife Refuge is located in northwest Montana, 32 miles southeast of the town of Creston, in the serene and picturesque Swan Valley Mountain Range. The refuge boundary lies within the floodplain of the Swan River above Swan Lake and between the Swan Mountain Range to the east and the Mission Mountain Range to the west. The valley was formed when glacial ice poured down the steep slopes of the Mission Range The valley floor is generally flat but rises steeply to adjacent forested mountainsides. Most of the refuge lies within this valley floodplain, which is composed mainly of reed canary grass. Deciduous and coniferous forests comprise the rest. Swan River, which once meandered through the floodplain, has been forced to the west side of the refuge by deposits of silt, leaving a series of oxbow sloughs within the refuge floodplain. Objectives of the refuge are to provide for waterfowl habitat and production and to provide for other migratory bird habitats. The refuge also provides a nesting site for a pair of southern bald eagles and a variety of other avian species. In addition, deer, elk, moose, beaver, bobcat, black bear and grizzly bears are known to
Swan River National Wildlife Reserve