Kootenai Wildlife Refuge - Bonners Ferry - Things To Do Reviews

I’m not sure what I expected to see when I saw information on the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge. Based on the name I think it was different than what I did see. Located in Idaho’s panhandle about five miles west of Bonners Ferry and 25 miles south of the Canadian border this 2,774 acre area, called mistakenly a refuge, was established back in 1965 as a habitat and resting area for migrating waterfowl. There are a couple of waterfalls but by mid summer they are little more than a trickle and the range said they were not worth the hike to get to them. The area is visited or home to 300 different species of wildlife. The name implies that it is a place providing shelter or protection from danger from the meaning of the word refuge. But we were handed a map which included all of the hunting blinds and regulations for hunting and fishing in the area. There is not protection or shelter from danger here for the wildlife. It is a wetlands area prime for the hunter of waterfowl. We saw very few birds and no animals in the hour we spent in the area, except for the many hummingbirds gathering at the feeder just outside the ranger station.