Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
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Discover CONCORD
Coyote reflected in the pool
passion, and money to maintaining the land, waterways, and woods as resting and feeding places for migratory birds. He was quick to purchase abutting parcels of undeveloped properties from private landowners as they came on the market, only to turn around and gift those, too, to the federal government. His generosity and foresight helped create one of the most comprehensive wildlife resource management programs in the world. Who Calls Great Meadows Home? More than 220 species, from the chickweed geometer moth to the redtailed hawk, call Great Meadows home. It is estimated that the careful observer will encounter at least 40 species on a single visit. That number does not include the invasive plants and wildlife that have found their way to Great Meadows. Left untreated, nonnative species will endanger the delicate ecosystem Mr. Hoar strived to create. Two examples of invasive species are carp and water chestnuts. While guests may enjoy the aerial show carps put on as
| 2021 Guide to the Great Outdoors
©Don Willette
C
Concord has a reputation for being the epicenter of both the American and literary revolutions as well as home to classic authors, philosophers, and artists. But this small town of barely 17,000 residents boasts another wonder - Great Meadows, a world-renowned refuge dedicated to the preservation of native plants, insects, fish, birds, and animals. Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, a 3,800-acre network of lands and waters managed specifically for the protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat, is one of eight wildlife refuges in Eastern Massachusetts that is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, a bureau of the Department of the Interior, manages the property that meanders 12 miles along the Sudbury and Concord Rivers and through six other communities: Billerica, Bedford, Carlisle, Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland. Great Meadows began in 1944 when the first parcels were donated to the federal government by Samuel Hoar, a Concord native, lawyer, outdoor enthusiast, and naturalist. Mr. Hoar dedicated his time,
Dawn at Great Meadows
©Brenda Chia
BY MAUREEN BELT
they jump two feet in the air, the fish is not native to the United States and is among the top 100 invasive species in North America. They make their way to the pools of Great Meadows when the Concord River swells each spring. Carp have no predators and compete in large numbers for the same food sources as native species. Their high mercury content, a byproduct of the Concord River, prevents them from being fileted into meals for the hungry or used as fertilizer.
