Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge - (701) 752-4218

For official information about Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge, go to http://chaselake.fws.gov/. For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, go to www.fws.gov/.

Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a 4,385 acre refuge established under the Executive Order of Theodore Roosevelt on August 28, 1908 as a "reserve and breeding area for native birds."

Chase Lake NWR is home to one of the largest breeding colonies of American White Pelicans and is important habitat for over 40,000 breeding birds. Chase Lake NWR is comprised of many different birds such as pelicans, cormorants, gulls,terns, herons and egrets. This makes the refuge one of the most significant mixed-species waterbird colonies in the northern plains and certainly one of the most important colonies managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Prairie Pothole Region.

In 1975, Chase Lake NWR had 4,155 acres of the refuge designated as a Wilderness Area. This makes Chase Lake NWR one of two National Wildlife Refuges in North Dakota that contain Wilderness Areas.

The refuge is located north of Medina, ND on County Road 68. Turn west on 26th Street SE after the Chase Lake NWR sign. Travel 7 miles west on a minimum maintenance road/prairie trail. Then travel 1 mile south to the Chase Lake Pass where the entrance sign can be seen.

If planning a visit, make sure to stop at the Chase Lake NWR Visitor Center in Medina or Chase Lake Headquarters in Woodworth, ND. Due to seasonally poor road conditions, alternate routes and a 4-wheel drive-capable vehicle may be recommened.

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