Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge (place)

The Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in Clatsop County, Oregon, east of the city of Astoria. The Wildlife Refuge consists of "approximately 20 islands" stretching over 27 miles of the river. (Since the islands are alluvial islands that change with the course of the river, the exact number of islands can change). Except for small parcels of land connected to the shore, the islands are unbridged, and accessible only by boat. The Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1972, with parcels being added over time. The main purpose of the National Wildlife Refuge is for protection of migratory birds, but it also protects resident birds (such as the Bald Eagle), megafauna such as the Columbia Black-Tailed Deer, and other mammals, fish and amphibians).

Not much of the Columbia River's original ecosystem is preserved, and where it is, it is mostly a result of chance or of the area being too undesirable to build on. The Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge owes its existence to the fact that the low, shifting alluvial islands were too difficult to build bridges too, and not large enough to be used for farming. Thus, one of the largest chunks of the unique and valuable ecosystem at the mouth of the Columbia was protected by accident.