Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge is located in an isolated mountain valley in extreme northwestern Colorado. It lies along both sides of the Green River, 25 miles below Flaming Gorge Dam. It contains 13,455 acres of river bottomland and adjacent benchland, and its habitats include alluvial benches, wet meadows, numerous ponds, and steep, rocky slopes. The primary purpose of Browns Park Refuge is to provide high-quality nesting and migration habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds. Before Flaming Gorge Dam was constructed in 1962, the Green River flooded annually, creating excellent waterfowl nesting, feeding and resting marshes in the backwater sloughs and old stream meanders. The dam stopped the flooding, eliminating much of this waterfowl habitat. Pumping from the Green River, along with water diverted from Beaver and Vermillion Creeks, now maintains nine marsh units.
Canada geese, mallards, redheads, teal, canvasbacks, and other ducks nest on the refuge. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded, including bald eagles, which frequent the area in winter. Golden eagles and peregrine falcons are seen soaring overhead during spring and summer. Browns Park is also home to prairie dogs, deer, elk, and pronghorn. Moose are found in the wet, riparian areas during spring, summer and fall, and river otters use the river and wetlands year round.
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