The Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge was created following
World War II in 1946 to protect habitat for
migratory birds and
waterfowl, specifically redhead ducks (
Aythya americana). By 2010, it had grown to encompass a total of in a landscape of "an interspersed pattern of meandering
resacas (oxbow lakes), lomas (brush-covered sand/clay dunes), coastal prairies, and
wetlands". ==Fauna==