Ramsar Wetlands

Since it was established in 1971, over 150 nations have signed The Ramsar Convention to Protect Wetlands of International Importance. The Caddo Lake Ramsar Wetlands  is one of only 26 such sites in the United States, and was the 13th U.S. site to be designated.

The Ramsar designation at Caddo Lake is approximately 20,000 acres and includes the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area and portions of the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

The portions of the Caddo Lake NWR included in the Ramsar designation include the bottomland hardwoods associated with Harrison Bayou on the south-southeastern side of the refuge.

A unique Caddo Lake Ramsar Wetlands Visitors Center will open September 26, 2009, in the Refuge Visitors Complex. The Caddo Lake Coalition, assisted by generous grants from the Caddo Lake Institute and the City of Marshall, Texas, obtained the historic Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant Guardhouse and moved it to the visitors complex where it was converted to a new life greeting refuge visitors and deepening their understanding of the importance and value of wetlands at Caddo Lake and throughout the world.

The Caddo Lake Institute, in collaboration with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army, and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, was instrumental in establishing the Ramsar Wetlands at Caddo Lake. More information about Ramsar and the Caddo Lake Institute can be found at http://www.caddolakeinstitute.us/index.html.