Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge – Ellsworth NE

Description

Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1931 under the Hoover Administration, but was not improved until President Franklin Roosevelt came into office in 1933. The refuge lies on the southwestern edge of the Sand Hills of Nebraska and it 45,000+ acres include one of the great wilderness areas of the NWR system.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “The earliest government actions on the Refuge were tree planting and small construction projects by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Projects Administration (WPA). The CCC built several buildings still in use today at the Refuge headquarters. The WPA built roads, fences, and other facilities, such as the fire tower, and several buildings at the headquarters site.”

According to CCC alumnus Charles E. Humberger, “A stable, clay-based road was con­structed through the refuge, along with other minor roads to key points. Bound­ary fencing was built and wildlife habitat improvements made. Considerable work was accomplished to improve the buildings and facilities at the refuge headquarters.”