Louisiana's 13,000-acre Breton National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Chandeleur Islands in the Gulf Coast, was hit hardest by the storm, said the release.
The second-oldest national wildlife refuge in the country, Breton is home to several threatened species, including the least tern and piping plover. It is now roughly half its original size, said the release.
The 20,000-acre Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in Gautier, Miss., also suffered a significant amount of damage from the Category 4 storm.
Prior to Hurricane Katrina, only around 140 Mississippi sandhill cranes remained in the wild. Despite the blow to their habitat, indications are that most of these survived, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service release.
Of the 38 Mississippi sandhill cranes fitted with radio transmitters, 25 were found alive after the storm, said the release. In addition, a captive flock at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans remained intact.
Four other national wildlife refuges in the area were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, said the release. These are Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Lacombe, La.; Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Venice, La.; Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge in Pearl River, La.; and Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in New Orleans, La.
Threatened and endangered species that live in these areas include the brown pelican, bald eagle, red-cockaded woodpecker, American alligator, Arctic peregrine falcon, ringed-sawback turtle, gopher tortoise, inflated heelsplitter mussel, gulf sturgeon, loggerhead sea turtle and swallow-tailed kite.
Common wildlife residing in these areas include many species of seabird and shorebird — such as the laughing gull, long-billed dowitcher and royal tern — numerous fish and shellfish species, swamp rabbits, nutria, raccoons, turkeys, deer, snakes, minks and skunks.
