William L Finley National Wildlife Refuge

The William L Finley National Wildlife Refuge is a part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge system, located in Benton County, Oregon. It was established in 1964, and is 5,325 acres (a little more than 8 square miles) in its main body, with an additional 341 acres (a half a square mile) in its "Snag Boat Bend Unit" in neighboring Linn County. The main body is a series of wetlands and prairies along the aptly-named "Muddy Creek", while the Snag Boat Bend Unit is along the other side of the much larger Willamette River, several miles away. The two are connected more by administrative convenience, and it is more than 20 miles by road between them.

The refugee is a home to migrating Canada Geese, and other water-based birds, but it is also the home of many raptors, such as the Red-Tailed Hawk, the Bald Eagle, and the Osprey, as well as mammals, including apex predators such as puma and black bear, herds of elk, and the more common white-tailed deer. It also hosts reptiles, amphibians and insects, all in a series of complicated but diverse ecosystems fit into its 8 square miles.

Since it is also somewhat isolated, the nearest city being Corvallis, a dozen miles away, with Eugene, Salem and Portland being further away, and since it is small and lacks many facilities, it is usually a good place for solitary wildlife viewing, with few crowd disruptions.

Somewhat surprisingly, given the natural diversity of Oregon and the environmental consciousness of the state, William L Finley is one of only three National Wildlife Refugees in the Willamette Valley, and is also the largest. (Although, of course, there are many other naturally protected areas, at the state level, in the Willamette Valley). The Willamette Valley is several thousand square miles, but these eight square miles are one of the few sections of it kept as a natural habitat.