The refuge provides breeding habitat for species of mammals including moose, elk, mule deer, muskrat, badger, and weasel.

[2] The refuge hosts a large nesting population of greater sandhill cranes; as many as 1200 individuals are counted in the valley during migration and staging times.

The refuge is a birding destination, and a good area to view the rare trumpeter swans.

This near-pristine montane wetland is being threatened by the same type of suburban/rural development that has so heavily impacted nearby Jackson Hole.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.