Slade National Wildlife Refuge is a 3,000-acre protected wetland area south of Dawson, North Dakota, encompassing Harker Lake and Upper Harker Lake in a landscape that supports large numbers of migratory waterfowl. Its origins lie in George Theron Slade’s purchase of land around Harker Lake beginning in 1924 for a private shooting club, where he improved bird habitat by growing feed grain and pumping water to sustain lake levels during drought. After he donated the land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1940, the refuge was established in 1941. It remains important as a haven for waterfowl and other wildlife on the northern plains.