[image_frame style=”framed_shadow” alt=”Hackmatack bird banding” title=”Hackmatack bird banding” height=”614″ width=”614″]https://lifeinthismoment.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2014birdbanding2.jpg[/image_frame]
The National Wildlife Refuge System has been in the making for over 100 years, setting aside natural areas to protect precious resources. Hackmatack Wildlife Refuge, officially established as a refuge in November 2012, is truly a lesson in how a grassroots dream can achieve success. The idea began with a group of friends chatting together, and imagining how a refuge could be created in this unique area, where land has been shaped by glaciers. Prairie, oak savanna, bog and marsh form a place where 40 state endangered and threatened plant and animal species can thrive.
[image_frame style=”framed_shadow” alt=”Hackmatack bird banding” title=”Hackmatack bird banding” height=”614″ width=”614″]https://lifeinthismoment.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2014birdbanding.jpg[/image_frame]
On this beautiful spring day, songbirds were gently netted, and cautiously handled by experienced service wildlife biologists. The National Wildlife Refuge System mascot, the big blue goose, was on hand to welcome area children, who watched the process intently and smiled as the birds were set free.