From Washington to you
Julia Butler Hansen Refuge
Julia Butler Hansen Refuge · Wahkiakum County · December 1971
A 1971 refuge on the lower Columbia was set aside for a deer that had nearly vanished, then renamed for Washington's first Democratic congresswoman.
Julia Butler Hansen Refuge was established in 1971 to protect and manage the then-endangered Columbian white-tailed deer. It holds over 6,000 acres of pastures, forested tidal swamps, brushy woodlots, marshes, and sloughs along the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon. The first 845 acres were purchased in December 1971 as the Columbia White Tailed Deer Sanctuary.
Those habitats also support wintering and migratory birds, Roosevelt elk, river otter, reptiles and amphibians, and nesting bald eagles, great horned owls, and osprey. FWS calls the refuge a stronghold for a once nearly extinct deer population and one of 56 National Wildlife Refuge System sites established for a specific threatened or endangered species.
In 1988 it was renamed for Julia Butler Hansen (1907–1988), who represented Washington's Third District in the U.S. House from 1960 to 1974. FWS says she was the second woman, and the first Democratic woman, elected to Congress from Washington. This is one of only three refuges in the system named after a woman. The sources below are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge pages.
- Wildlife & Ecology
- History
Sources (2)
government · Tier S
U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceJulia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer
government · Tier S
U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceJulia Butler Hansen Refuge, About Us
Last reviewed: September 21, 2026
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