U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service º
tº 44/230 3/3/aolo
arles M. Russel
National Wild.
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. . . .
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fe Refuge

“The musquetoes troublesome
this evening, a circumstance
I did not eacpect from the
temperature of the morning.
The Gees begin to lose the
feathers of their wings and
are unable to fly. Capt Clark
walked on shore and killed
A deer and an Elk. We killed
a large fat brown bear which
took the water after being
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Two Calf Island area from Knox Ridge.
9Rick & Susie * º | º
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ºwounded and was carried
ºunder some driftwood where
he sunk and we were unable
to get him. Saw but few
buffalow today, but a great
number of Elk, deer, some
antelopes and 5 bear.”
Meriwether Lewis, May 23, 1805,
written while traveling through land that
now is part of the Charles M. Russell
National Wildlife Refuge

A Million
Acre Refuge
This blue goose,
designed by J.N.
“Ding” Darling,
is the symbol
of the National
Wildlife Refuge
System.
Bison cow (below);
homestead (right)
Extending 125 airline miles up the
Missouri River from Fort Peck Dam
in north-central Montana, Charles M.
Russell National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) contains approximately
1,100,000 acres and surrounds the
245,000-acre Fort Peck Reservoir.
It includes native prairies, forested
coulees, river bottoms, and badlands
so often portrayed in the paintings
of the colorful, early-day artist for
whom this Refuge is named.
Charles M. Russell NWR is managed
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Refuge is one of over 550 refuges
in the National Wildlife Refuge
System — a system of lands set aside to
conserve wildlife and habitat for people
today and generations to come. It is the
second largest national wildlife refuge
in the lower 48 states.
In 1936, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt signed an order that initially
established this area as the Fort Peck
Game Range. The establishing purpose
was to create habitats to sustain
up to 400,000 sharp-tailed grouse,
1,500 antelope, and other species to
maintain a balanced wildlife population.


The Passage
of Time Brought
Many Changes
In 1963, the Game Range was
designated as the Charles M. Russell
National Wildlife Range, and in 1976
the “Range” became a “Refuge.” With
the name changes came a new mission,
“to preserve, restore and manage in
a generally natural setting a portion
of the nationally significant Missouri
River Breaks and associated
ecosystems for optimum wildlife
resources and provide compatible
human benefits associated with its
wildlife and wildlands.” The term
“river breaks” describes the much
dissected expanse of ground that has
been carved by flows of water such
as Seven Blackfeet Creek, Devils
Creek, Snow Creek, Hell Creek,
the Musselshell River, and numerous
smaller, more intermittent creeks.
The land along the Missouri River is
rich in the history of American Indians,
frontiersmen, and wildlife. Big game
animals recorded here by Lewis and
Clark in May of 1805 included
American bison, elk, mule and white-
tailed deer, pronghorn, and Audubon
bighorn sheep. There were
also grizzly bears, wolves,
mountain lions, bobcats,
and coyotes. Ducks, geese,
and Swans were abundant,
as were sharp-tailed and
sage grouse. Trappers and
fur traders were attracted
by beaver along the
Missouri River and its
tributary streams.
As hunters and homesteaders moved
west, their presence slowly changed
the country and its wildlife. The native
plains elk vanished from the Missouri
River Breaks during the homestead
era in the early 1900s. The last known
Audubon bighorn sheep was killed in
the area in 1916. Hide hunters
decimated the buffalo herds. Domestic
cattle replaced the buffalo. Wolves and
the plains grizzly bear were eliminated
because of their predatory nature.



Much of the prairie habitat used
by many of the smaller birds and
mammals was plowed under for
farmland. A portion of the Missouri
River Breaks and the badlands,
however, escaped many of these
influences of settlement because of
the area's rough terrain, poor soils,
and inaccessibility. Remnant
populations of some wildlife species
were still present when the area was
established as a National Game Range.
Refuge Wildlife Mule deer are the most common and
Today widely distributed big game animals
on the Refuge. They are
º, found primarily in the
Missouri River Breaks.
White-tailed deer are also
numerous in their preferred
habitat along the river.
Bighorn sheep have been
introduced in Two Calf
Fºº Creek and Mickey Brandon
Bull elk Buttes to replace the extinct Audubon
bighorn sheep. Elk were restored to
their historic range from Yellowstone
National Park in 1951 and now inhabit
much of the Refuge. Pronghorn use
open ridge tops and the UL Bend
Wilderness Area, especially during
severe winters.
About 236 species of birds have
been identified in the area since 1936.
Double-crested cormorant and great
blue heron rookeries occur on islands
and in flooded timber along Fort Peck
Reservoir. Many species of raptors,
such as golden eagles, prairie falcons,
Ospreys, and American kestrels,
nest on the Refuge. Each spring,
sharp-tailed grouse gather on
traditional dancing grounds, or
“leks,” and begin their courtship
rituals. Armed with binoculars and
a bird guide, a visit to the Refuge
will provide a rewarding experience
to the novice as well as the expert
birder.

The black-tailed prairie dog plays an
important role in the prairie ecosystem.
Thirty other species of wildlife depend
on prairie dog colonies for part of their
nutritional and habitat requirements.
Eagles, hawks, coyotes,
bobcats, and badgers prey on
prairie dogs, while burrowing
º, owls use their homes for
: nesting. Rattlesnakes
º sometimes hibernate in the
burrows and prey on the
| pups. Mountain plovers
select nesting sites and rear
their young in association
- ! with prairie dog towns. The
lack-tailed black-footed ferret, one of the world's
prairie dog most endangered mammals, lives
within the burrow system created
by the prairie dogs and feeds almost
entirely on these burrowing rodents.
Black-footed ferrets were first
reintroduced on the UL Bend portion
of the Refuge in 1994. Nearly
250 kits were born On the
Refuge through 2009, but
the establishment of a self-
| Sustaining population remains
in question. Prairie dogs in this
area are a small part of what
once were much more expansive
colonies that extended north to
Nº the Milk River. There are many
| challenges associated with
º maintaining prairie dog colonies
*** large enough to support a self.
Black-footed ferrel sustaining ferret population. In addition,
sylvatic plague, an exotic disease that
is lethal to both prairie dogs and
ferrets, has periodically eliminated
thousands of acres of prairie dogs, and
that translates to the elimination of
both the habitat and the prey that
ferrets require for survival.




Recreational Many wildlife-oriented recreational
Opportunities activities, including photography,
Abound wildlife observation, and hiking,
occur on the Refuge.
An auto tour route begins
º º at its intersection with
º Highway 191just north
of where the highway
crosses the Missouri River.
The tour route rejoins the
highway about 10 miles
to the north of this
intersection. Driving this
route will give the visitor
º chances to experience the
º: º - º wildlife, wildlands, history,
- - - and scenic vistas that are
Meadowlark characteristic of the Missouri River
Breaks. Interpretive signs posted
along the route provide information
to help the visitor learn more about
this unique area. Opportunities for
observing and photographing elk
are good in the fall along the river
portion of the tour route. Hiking and
horseback riding permit exploration
of the more remote areas of the Refuge
that are not accessible by vehicle.
Fishing is a popular recreational
activity on Fort Peck Reservoir and
along the Missouri River. Walleye,
Sauger, northern pike, paddlefish,
catfish, ling, and lake trout are some
of the fish species present in the
reservoir. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service works cooperatively with
the Corps of Engineers, the Bureau
of Land Management, and the State
of Montana to provide camping,
picnicking, boat launching, and other
recreation facilities associated with this
waterway. Consult the Refuge Guide
Map available at Refuge headquarters
and Wildlife Stations for exact locations
of developed camping and boat
launching facilities on Fort Peck
Reservoir and the Missouri River.

~ ||:
(above);
sharp-tailed
grouse (below)
Accessibility
Hunting is permitted
on the Refuge for
mule and white-tailed
deer, antelope, elk,
waterfowl, and upland
game birds. Coyote
hunting is allowed
from the first day
of the general rifle
antelope season through March 1.
All recreational activities are subject
to both State and Federal regulations.
Hunters should contact staff at
Refuge headquarters to inquire
about current regulations.
Equal opportunity to participate
in and benefit from programs and
activities of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is available to all
individuals regardless of physical
or mental ability. Dial 711 for a free
connection to the State relay service
for TTY and voice calls to and from
the speech and hearing impaired.
For more information or to address
accessibility needs, please contact the
Refuge staff at 406/5388706, or the
U.S. Department of the Interior, Office
of Equal Opportunity, 1849 C Street,
NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.


“The moºntains and
the plains seemed
to stimulate man's
imagination. A man
in the States might
have been a liai, in a
small way, but when
he comes west he soon
takes lessons from the
prairies, where ranges
a hººdped miles
away seem within
touchin' distance,
streams run uphill
and nature appears
to lie some herself.”
Charles M. Rºussell

Charles M. Russell
National Wildlife Refuge
- Refuge Boundary
US Route
State Route
- County Road
fºr USFWS Wildlife Station
O Public Recreation Area
Refuge roads are numbered. Motor vehicles are permitted
only on numbered routes. Most roads are passable only in
dry weather. Local inquiry should be made at one of the
Wildlife Stations if travel is planned off the main highways.
Charles M. Russell
NWR
To Harlem To Malta
To Malta
Miss 242 | - -
^ | Bonº Tºi º
- i Boat Ra
-]
Rock Creek i -----
ºlames Kippº Vºl - UL Bend |--
i-hº Regº-, * -- NWR *" -
jº" ----- T *_ |
IIſ IIIe -
- - Jordan
Station §" || || Wildlife.
ſ Stati
jºreal º at IOI.
$
L/º
To Lewistown
To Billings
Boat Ramp ** -
|
200
To Lewistown
The Charles M. Russell NWR headquarters is located
in Lewistown, with Wildlife Stations at Sand Creek,
Fort Peck, and Jordan. Hotel accommodations and
restaurants can be found at Fort Peck, Glasgow,
Malta, Zortman, Lewistown, and Jordan.
A
N
0 miles 10
==E== -
0 km 10
To Glasgow
ort Fort Peck
Peck Wildlife Station
Mºsso,
(2) * --- *// ºver
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------ iº
Fort Peck ºr a Bear Creek
Rec º a º MRec Area
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Rec
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Area-
Lº
º "Nelson
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tº Jordan
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@ To Circle
To Miles City
































-
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
PO Box 110
Lewistown, MT59457
406/5388706
406/5387521 fax
cmrGiws.gov
http://www.fws.gov/cmn/
For State relay service
TTY / Voice: 711
http://www.fws.gov
For Refuge information
1800/344 WILD
February 2010
º
NVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
|
ſti
3 9015 08543 4408
From Tripp Divide looking n
© Rick & Susie Graetz