Sullys
Hill National Game Preserve
has an auto tour and nature trail. The 4 mile interpreted
auto tour is usually open from May through October. Gates
are open from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM throughout the summer. There
is a 1 mile self-guided nature trail that takes visitors along
a wooded stream and through the wooded terrain of the
preserve where you might see white tailed deer, wood ducks and
warblers.
Sullys
Hill is located south of Devils Lake, ND. Named after General
Alfred Sully who led an expedition to the south shore of Devils
Lake in 1865. It is one of the nation's 500 National Wildlife
Refuges. It was originally set aside in 1904 by President
Theodore Roosevelt, as a big game preserve, to help save
two of North America's most majestic species: bison and elk.
By the time Sullys Hill became a big game preserve in 1914, American
bison were considered an endangered species. They had disappeared
from North Dakota by 1884. 
In 1895, only 20 wild bison remained
in the United States and 250 were left in Canada. By 1900,
Elk were gone from much of their native range, including North
Dakota. Protective laws, the establishment of refuges, and propagation
of private herds helped save the species. Bison are now
numbering approximately 75,000 in North America. The Bison
is now out of danger.
For the Elk, habitat protection and regulated hunting have helped
elk numbers recover. Currently, Sullys Hill is managed as
a refuge and breeding ground for birds and other wildlife as well
as a big game preserve. Sullys Hill has also been developed
into a Regional Conservation Learning Center and is managed by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Some
of the wildlife that can be seen at Sullys Hill includes:
Bison, Elk, White-tailed deer, prairie dogs, waterfowl, foxes,
raccoons, skunks, weasels, mink, gray and fox squirrels, muskrats,
rabbits, woodchucks, many species of songbirds, shorebirds, bald and
golden eagles.
