Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota protects 30,700 acres of oak savanna, Big Woods, wetlands, prairie, and waterways along the St. Francis River, supporting a rich community of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Its land holds a long human history, including Native American village sites dating to about 1300 CE and later settlement in the 1870s. Agricultural drainage and fire suppression altered the original ecology, but by the 1940s conservationists recognized the area’s value and potential for restoration. Federal protection was requested in 1960, the refuge was approved on May 18, 1965, and duck stamp funds helped purchase the land for habitat restoration and seasonal public use.