Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge

Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Iowa. It is a collection of non-contiguous parcels in the vicinity of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The refuge was established in 1989 to help the recovery of two federally listed species: the endangered Iowa Pleistocene Snail and threatened plant Northern Wild Monkshood. Although the refuge was established to protect the snail and flower, an entire rare community of plants and animals is preserved on these sites. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the refuge as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system. Currently, the refuge consists of nine sites totaling 811.99 acres (328.60 ha) in four counties of Iowa only. In descending order of land area they are Clayton, Dubuque, Jackson, and Allamakee counties.