Santee National Wildlife Refuge

United States National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina

33°31′00″N 80°19′30″W / 33.51667°N 80.32500°W / 33.51667; -80.32500Area15,000 acres (61 km²)Established1941Governing bodyU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceWebsiteSantee National Wildlife Refuge

Santee National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,000-acre (61 km²) refuge alongside Lake Marion, an impoundment of the Santee River of Clarendon County, South Carolina.

Geology

The refuge lies within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province of South Carolina. One of the features of the refuge is Dingle Pond, which is a Carolina Bay.

Human history

The refuge contains the Santee Native American mound, which is the farthest eastern known representation of the Mississippian culture. Later built upon this same mound was the Revolutionary British Fort Watson, which was taken by Marion's Brigade in April 1781. The site has been an important site of archeological investigations.

The refuge was established in 1941. The refuge was formerly much larger, but was reduced greatly in size in 1976 when the Lake Moultrie section in Berkeley County was discontinued due to lease termination.^[1]

Ecology

The refuge is especially important because its many wetlands support migratory birds. Within the refuge, which consists of mixed hardwoods and pines, marsh, old croplands, impoundments and open water, is a large diversity of wildlife, including bald eagles, and even the peregrine falcon. More common are deer, raccoons, bobcats, alligators, teal, wood ducks, Canada geese, mallards, pintails, red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, and wild turkeys.

References

^ USFWS: History, Santee National Wildlife Refuge

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

External links

Santee National Wildlife Refuge

Protected areas of South Carolina

Federal

National Parks	Congaree
National Historic Sites and Historical Parks	Charles Pinckney NHS Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie NHP Ninety Six NHS Reconstruction Era NHP
National Military Parks and Battlefields	Cowpens NB Kings Mountain NMP
National Historic Trail	Overmountain Victory
National Forests	Francis Marion Sumter
National Wildlife Refuges	Cape Romain Carolina Sandhills Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin Pinckney Island Santee Savannah Tybee Waccamaw
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Ashepoo Combahee Edisto Basin North Inlet-Winyah Bay
Wilderness Areas	Cape Romain Congaree Ellicott Rock Hell Hole Swamp Little Wambaw Swamp Wambaw Creek Wambaw Swamp
Wild and Scenic River	Chattooga River

State

State Parks	Aiken Andrew Jackson Baker Creek Barnwell Caesars Head Calhoun Falls Cheraw Chester Colleton Croft Devils Fork Dreher Island Edisto Beach Givhans Ferry Goodale H. Cooper Black Jr. Memorial Field Trial and Recreation Area Hamilton Branch Hickory Knob Hunting Island Huntington Beach Jones Gap Keowee-Toxaway Kings Mountain Lake Greenwood Lake Hartwell Lake Warren Lake Wateree Landsford Canal Lee Little Pee Dee Myrtle Beach Oconee Paris Mountain Poinsett Sadlers Creek Santee Sesquicentennial Table Rock Woods Bay
State Historic Sites	Charles Towne Landing Colonial Dorchester Hampton Plantation Musgrove Mill Oconee Station Redcliffe Plantation Rivers Bridge Rose Hill Plantation
State Forests	Harbison Manchester Poe Creek Sand Hills Wee Tee
Heritage Preserves	Aiken Gopher Tortoise Altamaha Towne Ashmore Bald Rock Bear Branch Belvue Springs Bennett's Bay Blackwell Botany Bay Plantation Brasstown Creek Bunched Arrowhead Buzzard Island Buzzard Roost Capers Island Cartwheel Bay Cathedral Bay Chestnut Ridge Childsbury Towne Clear Creek Congaree Bluffs Congaree Creek Crosby Oxypolis Daws Island Ditch Pond Dungannon Plantation Eastatoe Creek Eva Russell Chandler Fort Frederick Fort Lamar Forty Acre Rock Glassy Mountain Gopher Branch Great Pee Dee River Green's Shell Enclosure Henderson Janet Harrison High Pond Laurel Fork Lewis Ocean Bay Lighthouse Inlet Little Pee Dee Little Pee Dee State Park Bay Long Branch Bay Longleaf Pine Lynchburg Savanna Nipper Creek Old Island Pacolet River Peachtree Rock Peters Creek Poinsett Bridge Rock Hill Blackjacks Savage Bay Savannah River Bluffs Segars-McKinnon Shealy's Pond South Bluff St. Helena Sound Stevens Creek Stoney Creek Battery Stumphouse Mountain Tillman Sand Ridge Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve Waccamaw River Wadakoe Mountain Wateree Watson-Cooper Woods Bay
Wildlife Management Areas	Bear Island Belfast Bonneau Ferry Campbell's Crossroads Canal Causey Tract Cliff Pitts Clinton Reservoir Tract Crackerneck Donnelley Draper Edisto River Fant's Grove Gray Court Tract Hamilton Ridge Hatchery Herbert Kirsh Hickory Top James L. Mason James Ross Jim Timmerman Keowee Landsford Canal Forest Liberty Hill Marsh McBee McCalla McConnells Tract Moultrie Hunt Unit Nine Times Oak Lea Palachucola Pee Dee Station Samworth Santee Coastal Reserve Santee Cooper Santee Cooper Tract Santee Dam Santee-Delta Thurmond Tract Turtle Island Webb Wild Turkey Woodbury Worth Mountain
Seabird Sanctuaries	Bay Point Shoal Bird Key - Stono Crab Bank Deveaux Bank Joiner Bank North Santee Bar

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National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

The refuge consists of four units, Bluff with the Visitor Center, Pine Island, Dingle Pond with a Carolina Bay, and Cuddo the largest unit. The visitor center is open Tuesday through Friday, 8am to 4pm, but may be closed due to volunteer availability. Call ahead to be certain. The Cuddo unit is closed on Mondays.