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Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge has been selected to receive $800,000 from a federal land conservation fund to acquire 80 acres of pasture land that is one of just two wintering sites used by the entire world population of the Semidi Islands Aleutian cackling goose, which numbers only about 140 birds. The parcel is located just north of Pacific City.
The Nature Conservancy's initial purchase of the property, the Martella Farm just a mile North of The Craftsman B&B, was done in a timely manner while the US Fish & Wildlife Service worked to secure funding to purchase it from the Conservancy, without profit, and add it to the refuge.
“Acquiring this land for inclusion in the refuge is essential to the long-term protection of the Semidi birds, as it will permanently protect one of their most important wintering sites,” said Roy Lowe, project leader of the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes the Nestucca Bay Refuge. “Providing long-term secure wintering habitat for Aleutian cackling geese was one of the main reasons the refuge was established.”
“This property was a top national priority for addition to a refuge because its habitat is so critical for the remaining Aleutian cackling geese,” said Russell Hoeflich, Oregon director for The Nature Conservancy. “We congratulate the Fish and Wildlife Service for this refuge addition and thank them for doing an excellent job of protecting the incredible natural diversity of the Oregon coast for future generations.”
Addition of the parcel to the refuge will also help secure high-value habitat for thousands of other migratory birds that spend time around Nestucca Bay, where as many as 4,000 geese have been observed using pasture land. As refuge land, the newly acquired tract will be grazed to maintain the short grass pasture habitat that is essential for the geese, thus contributing to the local dairy farming economy and at the same time, helping to address depredation by the geese on nearby farm lands, Lowe said. The community of Pacific City is rapidly growing toward the site and a new housing development is being built just above it, increasing the need for protecting this important open space, he added.
I'm not allowed on Refuge land, being a bird dog, but I can tell you where to go to see the birds hanging out in the greatest town on the Oregon coast. Come visit me this winter while the rare geese are munching in the fields.
The Nature Conservancy's initial purchase of the property, the Martella Farm just a mile North of The Craftsman B&B, was done in a timely manner while the US Fish & Wildlife Service worked to secure funding to purchase it from the Conservancy, without profit, and add it to the refuge.
“Acquiring this land for inclusion in the refuge is essential to the long-term protection of the Semidi birds, as it will permanently protect one of their most important wintering sites,” said Roy Lowe, project leader of the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes the Nestucca Bay Refuge. “Providing long-term secure wintering habitat for Aleutian cackling geese was one of the main reasons the refuge was established.”
“This property was a top national priority for addition to a refuge because its habitat is so critical for the remaining Aleutian cackling geese,” said Russell Hoeflich, Oregon director for The Nature Conservancy. “We congratulate the Fish and Wildlife Service for this refuge addition and thank them for doing an excellent job of protecting the incredible natural diversity of the Oregon coast for future generations.”
Addition of the parcel to the refuge will also help secure high-value habitat for thousands of other migratory birds that spend time around Nestucca Bay, where as many as 4,000 geese have been observed using pasture land. As refuge land, the newly acquired tract will be grazed to maintain the short grass pasture habitat that is essential for the geese, thus contributing to the local dairy farming economy and at the same time, helping to address depredation by the geese on nearby farm lands, Lowe said. The community of Pacific City is rapidly growing toward the site and a new housing development is being built just above it, increasing the need for protecting this important open space, he added.
I'm not allowed on Refuge land, being a bird dog, but I can tell you where to go to see the birds hanging out in the greatest town on the Oregon coast. Come visit me this winter while the rare geese are munching in the fields.
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