Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. 12/02/02; Kansas; 8,958 ha; 38°05'N 098°29'W. National Wildlife Refuge. An excellent example of inland salt marsh, a rare habitat type in the region, ranging from high salinity to almost fresh water depending upon varying precipitation and saline inflow from Rattlesnake Creek, resulting from local geological conditions which bring a layer of salt groundwater close to the surface upstream. The salt marshes, interspersed with mixed grass prairie and agricultural fields, provide critical nesting, migration, and wintering habitat for more than 311 bird species and literally millions of individuals. A number of nationally endangered and threatened species are present, including the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, whooping crane, interior least tern (Sterna antillarum), and piping plover. A diversity of habitat is provided by native grass uplands, fresh and saltwater marshes, and salt flats, and the site comprises a major site for migratory birds - because of the sporadic nature of prairie thunderstorms, Quivira complements the nearby Cheyenne Bottoms Ramsar site, such that when one is dry or flooded the other is nearly always suitable for use by shorebirds. The two sites, because of this sharing of habitat, often host over 90% of the world's population of such species as stilt sandpipers (Calidris himantopus) and white-rumped sandpipers (Calidris fuscicollis), as well as hundreds of thousands of geese and cranes. A large and growing number of tourists (presently 60,000 p.a.) enjoy wildlife observation at the site, with benefit of a visitors' centre, and a Friends of Quivira volunteer support group organizes many imaginative activities. Reprint of the RIS. Ramsar site no. 1172. Most recent RIS information: 2002.