Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge in south-central North Carolina protects 8,443 acres along the Pee Dee River in Anson and Richmond counties. Established in October 1963, it was created chiefly to provide winter habitat for geese and migratory waterfowl, especially mallards, ring-necked ducks, and wood ducks. Its managed wetlands, farmland, bottomland hardwoods, upland pine, mixed forest, croplands, and grasslands support widely varying winter flocks that can exceed 10,000 birds, including a small population of Southern James Bay Canada geese. The refuge also sustains broad biodiversity, with more than 168 bird species and numerous reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and fish, making it a major regional conservation area.