Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge protects wetlands and grasslands in North Park, Colorado, along the Illinois River valley. Established in 1967 and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it was created to give waterfowl a place to nest and raise young and to help offset lost prairie wetland habitat in the Midwest. Because this high, dry landscape depends on diverted river water, the refuge is intensively managed through irrigation, burning, grazing, and pond-level control. Its rich birdlife is central to its significance: nearly 200 bird species have been recorded, thousands of migrating waterfowl stop here, and the refuge produces thousands of ducklings and goslings each year.