Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in the context of "Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge"

The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a 14,000-acre (5,666-hectare) National Wildlife Refuge in eastern and central Minnesota. Located just south of the city of Minneapolis, it is one of fourteen Regional Priority Urban Wildlife Refuges in the nation. Many parts of the refuge are near large establishments of Minneapolis–Saint Paul; the Bloomington Education and Visitor Center and two trailheads are located just blocks from the Mall of America, the Wilkie Unit is just east of Valleyfair, and the Louisville Swamp Unit is just south of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

The refuge stretches southwest through Minneapolis's outer-ring suburbs to Henderson, Minnesota. There are eleven refuge units strung along 70 miles (113 km) of the Minnesota River. The various refuge units are interspersed with units of the Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area. Although the National Wildlife Refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the state recreation area by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, both agencies share a consistent signage to simplify visitation.