SHELDON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (NWR) (NEVADA)

One of the nine National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) located in the State of Nevada, the Sheldon NWR is located in the northwestern corner of Nevada and consists of over 575,000 acres (approximately 900 square miles) of high-desert habitat as a representative area for native plants and wildlife. The Sheldon NWR was formally established in 1978 and represented a consolidation of two refuge and range protection areas: (1) the Charles Sheldon Wildlife Range, created in 1931 by President Herbert Hoover from the purchase of the 30,000-acre Last Chance Ranch by the Boone and Crockett Club and the National Audubon Society; and (2) the Charles Sheldon Antelope Range, an area of over one-half million acres created in 1936 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the conservation and development of natural wildlife resources. Today, this area encompasses remote settings, scenic vistas, numerous natural geothermal hot springs, old ranches and homesteads plus sites of archaeological significance. Some 20 million years ago this area was covered with pine forests and lush grasslands, nurtured by a mild climate and more than 50 inches of annual rainfall. Today, this area receives only from 4-8 inches of precipitation, primarily in the form of snowfall, and the prominent geological characteristic of this refuge is the subsequent volcanic activity which spewed rhyolitic magma over much of its area with basalt flows up to 100 feet thick. These have formed the large, broad tables prevalent in this area today. Also see National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) System and National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) (Nevada).