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Idaho gopher snake
A gopher snake extends its tongue as it coils beneath a sagebrush at Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Idaho, Sept. 8, 2022. USFWS photo: Bridget Canning
About half of the refuge’s 20,699 acres is open water and wetlands. In this arid landscape, these resources serve as an oasis drawing numerous wildlife species from miles around.
Many species use the bulrush and cattail habitat that lines the lake’s small bays. Others use the willows, cottonwoods and other trees growing near shorelines. The rest of the refuge is low, rolling uplands covered by sagebrush, grasses and isolated juniper patches amongst scattered outcrops of basalt.
More on the refuge: www.fws.gov/refuge/minidoka
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