The Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge is a United States national wildlife refuge that will include noncontiguous properties, especially tallgrass prairie patches, wetland properties, and oak savanna parcels, located in the northwestern region of the Chicago metropolitan area and the southern part of the Milwaukee area.

[4] The Hackmatack wetlands were a traditional home to the Potawatomi tribe of Native Americans of the United States, who utilized them for fishing, waterfowl hunting, and the gathering of plants used as food and medicine.

During the rapid population growth of the 20th century, many of the wetlands within the Hackmatack ecosystem were drained and altered for residential development, while others, such as Volo Bog State Natural Area near Fox Lake, Illinois, were preserved.

[3] The State of Illinois announced acquisition of the first parcel land designated for inclusion in the new refuge, a 72-acre plot in northern McHenry County, in February 2013.

A former hunting club and retreat center adjacent to Richmond, Illinois, the parcel includes wetland and oak savanna suitable for inclusion in the Wildlife Refuge.