U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Northeast Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 300 Westgate Center Drive Hadley, MA 01035 This Land is Your Land 413/253 8200 National Wildlife Refuges Federal Relay Service for the deaf and hard-of-hearing in the Northeast 800/877 8339

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service http://www.fws.gov 800/344 WILD

October 2005

Rachel Carson NWR © Chris Feurt A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, This Land Is Your Land Maine stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. Sooner or later you are likely to meet the sign —Aldo Leopold of the flying goose—the emblem of the national wildlife refuges. Whenever you meet this sign, respect it. It means that the land behind the sign has been dedicated by the American people to

Silvio O. Conte NF& WR preserving, for themselves and their children, as Nulhegan Basin Division much of our native wildlife as can be retained Silvio O. Conte NF& WR along with our modern civilization. Pondicherry Division —Rachel Carson

Silvio O. Conte NF& WR Montshire Unit USFWS Wapack Silvio O. Conte NF&WR Headquarters Silvio O. Conte NF& WR Fort River Division Sanctuary for Seabirds and Seals White Island located in Boothbay Silvio O. Conte NF &WR Pyquad Division Picture a national wildlife refuge. was added to the refuge in 1995. Aroostook NWR Silvio O. Conte NF &WR Salmon River Division If your mind paints a landscape High cliffs at one end of the of wetlands with rafts of ducks 16-acre island serve as nesting and geese, you’re not alone. Many habitat for black guillemots and refuges do match this image, but gulls, while common eiders and these national treasures are more occasionally black-crowned diverse than that. night herons nest throughout the island. The shoreline Maine Coastal Islands National of the island provides an Wildlife Refuge, for example, now important pupping area protects more than 45 islands in for nearly 200 harbor the Gulf of Maine that are critical seals. nesting areas for shorebirds. From 1972 to 1980, Congress established The Maine Coast Petit Manan and other units of Heritage Trust, Moosehorn NWR the refuge complex to aid in the Boothbay Region conservation of migratory birds, Land Trust and Sunkhaze Meadows NWR Lake Umbagog NWR particularly dwindling populations Damariscotta Cross Island NWR The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acres of land was no easy feat in this Atlantic Flyway. Refuges have of seabirds. Cooperative River Association in 2005 acquired the half-millionth geographically and politically complex supported the recovery of the bald conservation efforts since that cooperatively Petit Manan NWR acre of land for the National Wildlife region. It required nearly 6,000 real eagle and peregrine falcon, species time have reversed the decline, and purchased Refuge System in the Northeast. estate transactions, more than 70 that were nearly extinct 50 years ago. seabirds have returned to nest on and held the From the boreal forests of Maine to years, and countless cooperative And, refuges have contributed to the Maine’s coastal islands. island until the the Great Dismal Swamp in southern partnerships among elected officials, successful restoration of historic runs U.S. Fish and Franklin Island NWR Seal Island NWR Virginia, these lands protect some government agencies, conservation of American shad in the Connecticut, Partners in Conservation Wildlife Service Pond Island NWR of the most significant habitats organizations, and landowners. Susquehanna, and Delaware rivers. A recently approved plan to expand was authorized in the region for migratory birds, the refuge’s boundary will allow to buy it. The Maine Coastal Islands NWR threatened and endangered species, There is a unique story behind the The value of national wildlife refuges for the protection of as many as Damariscotta Rachel Carson NWR and other native wildlife. protection of every national wildlife cannot be overstated in our collective 87 islands running the length of River refuge acre. This brochure profiles efforts to conserve fish and wildlife the state’s rugged shore. Due to Association and National wildlife refuges are for a significant addition to the National in the Northeast. As the Service the efforts of several Maine-based the Boothbay to assist refuge staff in people, too. They are places where Wildlife Refuge System in each of the considers future acquisitions, it will conservation organizations, Outer Region Land Trust continue monitoring the island’s seabirds. we can watch wildlife, hunt and fish, 13 Northeast Region states—from rigorously evaluate each potential and where our outdoor traditions can the recent purchase of a two-acre purchase to ensure that the lands Other National Wildlife Refuges in endure in the most densely populated island off the Connecticut coastline contain nationally significant wildlife Maine region of our country. These for endangered roseate terns to the habitats. Aroostook, Lake Umbagog, experiences provide a haven from Service’s protection of 26,000 acres Moosehorn, Rachel Carson, and the fast pace of our lives, inspire us, in Vermont’s Nulhegan Basin as part National wildlife refuge lands Sunkhaze Meadows national and keep us connected to the natural of an unprecedented partnership to are your lands, our lands. In the wildlife refuges, as well as the world in which we live. protect the Northern Forest landscape. Northeast, they provide a half million Carleton Pond Water Production acres of refuge for wildlife, for us, and Area, protect a variety of Maine The half-million acre milestone Refuges in the Northeast provide for future generations. habitats such as rocky shores, demonstrates the extraordinary critically important breeding and spruce-fir forests, thicket and results that can be achieved when feeding grounds for hundreds of —Tony Léger scrublands, and both freshwater

people work together to conserve thousands of ducks, geese, and Northeast Regional Chief of the Erickson © Paul and saltwater marshlands. land and wildlife. Acquiring 500,000 shorebirds migrating along the National Wildlife Refuge System

1 2 Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air Wild beasts and birds are by right not the property New Hampshire and giving fresh strength to our people. Vermont of the people who are alive today, but the property of —Franklin D. Roosevelt unknown generations, whose belongings we have no right to squander. —Theodore Roosevelt USFWS USFWS

Pristine Lake in the Northern New England Forest County, N.H., for Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Hampshire Missisquoi NWR Spanning the border of northern New Hampshire Refuge. The Trust purchased these tracts from from Champion Silvio O. Conte NF& WR and western Maine, Lake Umbagog National the Hancock Timber Resource Group to hold them International Nulhegan Basin Division Wildlife Refuge protects nearly 19,000 acres of land until the Service had funds in hand to purchase Corporation—a surrounding one of the last undeveloped lakes in them. The development rights on some of these major forest New England. The refuge, established in 1992, is an lands had already been purchased by the State of products essential link in the network of conservation lands New Hampshire. Other partners in this broad-based company. The in the Northern Forest. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife coalition to cooperatively conserve the lake and its Fund created Service and the States of New Hampshire and Maine Northern Forest surroundings include the State a partnership collectively manage three-quarters of the shoreline of of Maine, forest products companies, The Nature among the the lake, as well as nearby marshes, bogs and fens, and Conservancy and other Vermont Land hardwood and boreal forests. conservation organizations, Trust, the local governments, and Vermont Lake Umbagog is home to bald eagles, ospreys, fishers, landowners. Silvio O. Conte NF& WR Agency of Mohawk River Division mink, and otters, which feed on the abundance of fish Natural

in the lake and its tributaries. In addition to being Other National Wildlife USFWS Resources, the a premier site for loons, the refuge provides crucial Refuges in New U.S. Fish and breeding habitat for black ducks, ring-necked ducks, Hampshire Lake Umbagog NWR Conserving the Northern Forest Landscape Wildlife Service, common goldeneyes, and mergansers. Moose, deer, and Great Bay, John Hay, Unique among refuges, the boundary of Silvio O. Conte Essex Timber, bear are found throughout the refuge, as are such birds Silvio O. Conte, and National Fish and Wildlife Refuge encompasses the private investors, as woodcock and 24 species of warblers. The refuge Wapack national entire 7.2 million-acre watershed of the Connecticut and communities attracts birdwatchers, canoeists and kayakers, people wildlife refuges River, an area spanning four New England states in the Northeast who hunt and fish, cross-country skiers, and other protect forested, where some 2 million people live and work. In addition Kingdom to Silvio O. Conte NF& WR Silvio O. Conte NF& WR Montshire Unit outdoor enthusiasts. coastal bay, Pondicherry Division to acquiring “habitat jewels,” the Service actively protect the lakeshore, involves landowners, conservation groups, and land 133,000-acre Partners in Conservation and managers in protecting fish and wildlife resources portion of the In 2001, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased freshwater in the watershed. These people help conserve many lands in Vermont. 6,218 acres from the Trust for Public Land in Coos wetland species that could not be adequately protected through habitats. refuge ownership by supporting education and habitat The 26,000-acre Nulhegan Basin Division of the Conte improvement projects. refuge resulted from this multi-faceted landscape- level conservation project. The Service manages the The Nulhegan Basin in Vermont is one of the most property not only to protect fish and wildlife resources, biologically rich and most significant ecosystems but to ensure public access for wildlife-dependent in the watershed. In these wetlands and expanses recreational uses and to promote economic growth of uninterrupted forest, warblers and thrushes join in this rural area through recreation, tourism and spruce grouse, black-backed woodpeckers, and other sustainable long-term forest management. John Hay NWR boreal birds. Beaver and moose abound, and the pristine tributaries of the Nulhegan River support Champion International Corporation additionally Karner Blue Butterfly NWR breeding populations of native brook trout. donated the 76-acre Mollie Beattie Bog in Lewis, Vt., to the Service in memory of the late Service director. Great Bay NWR Partners in Conservation In 1991, in an ambitious conservation effort of Another National Wildlife Refuge in Vermont Wapack NWR unprecedented vision, scope, and complexity, The Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge protects Conservation Fund arranged to purchase nearly spectacular habitats, including an expansive river delta,

USFWS 300,000 acres of land in Vermont, New York, and New along the shore of Lake Champlain.

3 4 Today’s celebration is really more than the dedication When Ann Kenyon Morse donated her land more than Massachusetts of a preserved farm. Today’s celebration is, in fact, Rhode Island 30 years ago, she said she wanted to ensure that future about a community coming together to harvest a generations would be able to share the excitement resource, making it available for the common good. of seeing flocks of waterfowl fly low over the nearby —U.S. Congressman Marty Meehan fields and splash down on Trustom Pond. Hooded mergansers, ruddy ducks, and greater scaup are still coming to Trustom Pond to rest and refuel, and each year our gratitude for her gift of this property and this experience deepens. —U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee USFWS © Paul Erickson © Paul

Sustaining a Quality of Life Gifts of Land for Wildlife In addition to people who hunt and fish, many Waterfowl drift in the sea mist of the 6 million Americans who visit national by the rocky shoreline. The wildlife refuges in the Northeast have left a harmonic calls of songbirds echo nearby city or suburb behind to hike, wander, from a field of native grasses. meditate, or maybe to marvel at a gaggle of Pond water ripples as a snapping geese splashing into flooded marshlands at turtle surfaces. Dotted along the sunset. coast, Rhode Island’s five national wildlife refuges offer a variety of Many of these enthusiastic appreciators of natural settings that appeal to nature visit the Great Meadows National both wildlife and the people who Wildlife Refuge, a complex of wetlands, open visit the state. fields, grasslands, and forested uplands in © Paul© Erickson eastern Massachusetts. The refuge is situated Rhode Island’s only undeveloped along the historic Concord River, site of one salt pond is the centerpiece of the first battles in the Revolutionary War. of Trustom Pond National Here, for the city or suburban resident, the air Wildlife Refuge. The refuge smells fresher, the colors appear more vibrant, is a well-known birding spot and the sounds can be calming. Coming here is in New England, where one an antidote to the stress of a busy lifestyle. can see more than 30 species U.S. Fish and Wildlife of waterfowl, including hooded Service. The remainder Partners in Conservation and red-breasted mergansers, of the pond and shoreline In 1999, the 126-acre O’Rourke Farm was USFWS common goldeneye, and ruddy on Block Island Sound added to the Great Meadows refuge. The ducks during the year. Its gently was later donated by the former pig farm now provides public access rolling terrain slopes gradually Audubon Society of Rhode to more than 6 miles of the refuge’s trails and to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Island. This generosity O. Conte, Thatcher Island, and Nomans Land Island national a mile-long reservation along the Concord types of habitats found at the created Trustom Pond wildlife refuges protect habitats as diverse as pond shores, River. This land offers important habitat for refuge include beaches, red maple National Wildlife Refuge, shrub thickets, sandy beaches, cranberry bogs, salt marshes migratory birds, particularly those that nest swamps, grass fields, forests, and which now has grown to and flood plain forests. on the ground, and helps protect a public shrublands. 787 acres. drinking water supply. Parker River NWR Partners in Conservation Other National Wildlife Silvio O. Conte NF&WR Thacher Island NWR The Town of Carlisle’s Headquarters Decades ago, the late Ann Kenyon Refuges in Rhode Island Great Meadows NWR Conservation Commission served Silvio O. Conte NF& WR Oxbow NWR Morse flew as a pilot for the Ninigret, Block Island, as a liaison between a private Fort River Division Assabet River NWR Women Airforce Service Pilots, as Sachuest Point, and landowner and the U.S. Fish well as for the Rhode Island State John H. Chaffee at and Wildlife Service for this Police. At the time, few women Pettaquamscutt Cove acquisition. The commission were pilots, let alone hunters, national wildlife Sachuest John H. Chafee NWR Point NWR also convinced the town to anglers, and prize-winning sheep refuges protect purchase the tract until the ranchers as she was. a wide variety of Service had funds to acquire it. Massasoit NWR plant and animal Trustom Pond NWR Ninigret NWR Kenyon Morse was also deeply habitats, including Other National Wildlife Refuges Mashpee NWR devoted to wildlife and natural rocky shores, in Massachusetts Monomoy NWR landscapes. In 1974, she donated upland forests, Assabet River, Oxbow, Monomoy, Massasoit, her 365 acres of land, including native grasslands, Mashpee, Nantucket, Parker River, Silvio Nantucket NWR most of Trustom Pond, to the and wetlands. Block Island NWR Nomans Land Island NWR

5  A society is not defined only by what it creates, but by The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world’s Connecticut what it refuses to destroy. New York greatest system of lands dedicated to the conservation —John Sawhill of fish and wildlife. It is a system founded on faith; a belief that in a country as bountiful and diverse as ours, there ought to be places that are set aside exclusively for conservation of fish and wildlife resources. —William J. Clinton © Jim Herity USFWS

Islands in a Migratory Stream Partnerships on Private Lands Rising up from Norwalk Harbor “This is the best thing the government ever and lying some 600 feet offshore, did for me,” said Harold Cole, looking over 26 Peach Island could have been acres of restored wetlands on his farm. Cole a prime lot for a summer home. and more than 150 other New York landowners Instead, it now offers refuge for have joined with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife the hundreds of thousands of birds Service to restore more than 5,000 acres migrating across Long Island of wetlands and 2,000 acres of grasslands, Sound. streams, and other natural resources on their properties in the St. Lawrence Valley. The Peach Island is one of a string valley is one of the most important areas of islands and mainland parcels for waterfowl and grassland birds, such as spanning 60 miles of the densely bobolink and meadowlark, in the Northeast. populated Connecticut coastline that are protected as part of These cooperative habitat restoration projects Stewart B. McKinney National have been accomplished in association with the © Jim Herity Jim ©

Wildlife Refuge. The 2.63-acre Service’s St. Lawrence Wetland and Grassland USFWS island alone would have limited Management District. Encompassing the value to migratory birds and other river valley in New York, the district contains wildlife, but the refuge as a whole extensive wetlands and more than 350,000 conserves more than 900 acres acres of grasslands, including agricultural National Wildlife Refuges in New York of significant habitat for wading The Trust for Public Land purchased Peach Island in 2005 from the lands. Iroquois, Montezuma, and Shawangunk national wildlife birds, shorebirds, songbirds, and Norwalk Seaport Association. The Trust, a non-profit organization which refuges in upstate New York and Amagansett, Conscience Point, terns—including the endangered has worked closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect Partners in Conservation Lido Beach, Elizabeth A. Morton, Oyster Bay, Seatuck, Target roseate tern. Black ducks, scoters, numerous national wildlife refuge lands in the Northeast, kept the island The Farmers Home Administration in 1991 Rock, and Wertheim and brant winter in nearby waters. under its wing until the Service was able to purchase it. transferred a 360-acre former dairy farm refuges on Long to the Service. In addition to its beneficial Island, protect a St. Lawrence Wetland and The refuge, originally Salt Meadow Another Wildlife Refuge in Connecticut wildlife habitats, the site serves as a center Grassland Management diversity of natural National Wildlife Refuge, was The boundary of Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge of operations for the district as well as a District areas, including renamed in honor of the late U.S. encompasses the mobilization center for tractors and heavy forest, sandy beach Congressman from Connecticut entire Connecticut equipment throughout the valley. The Service and dune, kettle hole, who helped establish these River watershed, demonstrates effective wetland and grassland, rare pine protected areas. including the grassland restoration methods on Iroquois NWR barrens, and marine river’s basin in the property. Montezuma NWR habitats. Partners in Conservation Connecticut. To Long ago, farmers grazed cows date, no lands have The Service is looking beyond and grew a few peach trees on been acquired for the success of the restoration the island. It has been a place for the Conte refuge in projects on private lands kids to explore and live out their Connecticut. to obtain the legal authority imaginary adventures. One man to acquire key habitats in the St. with fond memories of his boyhood Lawrence Valley. To complement the Partners Ram Island Div. Shawangunk Grasslands NWR excursions to Peach Island turned Salt Meadow Div. in Fish and Wildlife projects on private lands, out to be one of the champions of Outer Island Div. Faulkner Div. the Service would buy conservation easements Milford Point Div. this acquisition; he worked with the on land, as well as some in fee title, from Elizabeth A. Great Meadows Stewart B. McKinney NWR Oyster Bay NWR Morton NWR Trust for Public Land to protect it Marsh Div. willing sellers for permanent protection and Norwalk Harbor Islands Div. Target Rock NWR Amagansett NWR from development. management. Seatuck NWR Conscience Point NWR Wertheim NWR Lido Beach NWR

7 8 We need to give kids time outdoors, where they can Civilization began around wetlands; today’s Pennsylvania meet and savor the world that humans have not made. New Jersey civilization has every reason to leave them wet and —Scott Russell Sanders wild. —Edward Maltby

fox, turtles, fish, and other wildlife. Visitors come to World-Renowned Wetlands In addition to Good Luck Point, AT&T also donated a the refuge to observe and learn about wildlife and the In Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, the United States signed an 50-acre parcel and a conservation easement on 2,400 natural world. international treaty to identify worldwide wetlands of acres for the refuge. Together, these three tracts international importance. Edwin B. Forsythe National of land protect significant habitat for waterfowl and Since its establishment in 1972, the refuge has Wildlife Refuge is one of only two dozen of these sites shorebirds. served as an outdoor classroom for local students and designated in the United States. teachers. More than 6,000 local students participate Other National Wildlife Refuges in New Jersey in environmental education programs at the refuge Located along a major migratory bird flight path, New Cape May, Great Swamp, Supawna Meadows, and each year. These experiences provide urban youth Jersey’s coastal wetlands are the preferred habitat of Wallkill River national with the rare opportunity to see wildlife in its natural large numbers of Atlantic brant and American black wildlife refuges protect environment. duck. More than 80 percent of the 46,000-acre refuge is forest, barrier beach, Wallkill River NWR tidal salt meadow and marsh, interspersed with shallow pond, stream, field, Partners in Conservation coves and bays. Abundant marsh plants provide food and grassland Tinicum Marsh, once covering thousands of acres and cover for water birds and other wildlife. Quiet tidal habitats. Cape of freshwater tidal wetlands, by the 1950s had been waters serve as spawning and feeding grounds for fish May refuge reduced to a mere fraction of its former size due to and shellfish. also contains rapid urbanization and other human uses. A group of a Wetland of USFWS local citizens—the Philadelphia Conservationists— The refuge’s Brigantine and Barnegat divisions were International convinced Gulf Oil Corporation to donate 145 acres at originally two separate refuges, established in 1939 Importance. An Urban Refuge the eastern end of the marsh to the City of Philadelphia and 1967 respectively, to protect migratory bird Great Swamp NWR John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum is in 1955. The grassroots organization in 1974 convinced habitat. The two refuges were combined in 1984 in the an urban oasis along the Philadelphia skyline. The the City to donate the property—known as Tinicum name of Edwin B. Forsythe, the late conservationist refuge—named for the late U.S. Senator who helped Wildlife Preserve to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Congressman from New Jersey. preserve Tinicum Marsh—provides resting and feeding for the newly established John Heinz refuge. The areas for more than 280 species of birds as well as deer, refuge now encompasses 1,200 acres. Partners in Conservation The donation of Good Luck Point, where Barnegat Another National Wildlife Refuge in Pennsylvania Bay meets Tom’s River, by AT&T to the Service in Erie National Wildlife 2003 added more than 150 acres of salt marsh to the Refuge in northwestern Forsythe refuge. The donation was made in conjunction Pennsylvania protects with contributions made by the Trust for Public Land ponds, marshes, and the State of New Jersey’s Green Acres Program. Erie NWR swamps, wet The property provides vital, protected habitat for meadows, ospreys, shorebirds, waterfowl, and other wildlife. grasslands, and beaver ponds. Edwin B. Forsythe NWR Supawna Meadows NWR

Cape May NWR John Heinz at Tinicum NWR USFWS

9 10 Not long ago this was no man’s land. It was a We’ve all heard the term “location, location, Delaware wasteland at the end of the road. Now it’s a national Maryland location” when it comes to real estate. In the world wildlife refuge—a beautiful oasis on a crowded of conservation, it’s “partnerships, partnerships, coastline. partnerships.” —Jonathan Schafler —Charles Darling USFWS

A Stop on an Amazing Journey First Refuge in the Northeast Sporting buff-red breast feathers More than 8,000 acres of marsh managed as a fur farm, and long black beaks, they’ve became the first national wildlife refuge land acquired flocked to the shores of Delaware in the Northeast. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Bay for longer than people can in Maryland today protects more than 25,000 acres of remember. There, they rest and prime wildlife habitat. feed in such dense clusters that they make portions of the beach look The refuge is an internationally significant area for upholstered. migratory birds. Black ducks, lesser snow geese, and They are migratory Canada geese rest and feed at Blackwater red knots— during their spring and fall migrations. In the summer, large many different water-dependent species, including wood sandpipers— ducks, great blue herons, and bald eagles, nest on the that migrate refuge. In fact, Blackwater has the largest number of 20,000 miles a USFWS nesting bald eagles in the eastern United States north year from Chile of Florida. USFWS and Argentina to the Canadian The refuge also provides essential habitat for the arctic and back To endure this remarkable songbirds migrating from Central Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel. After much of the again. journey, red knots rest along and South America. forested habitat was cleared throughout its range, the The Conservation Fund also restored the Phillips the shores of the bay to feed on numbers of this large steel-grey squirrel plummeted. Gunning Club to create the Karen Noonan Memorial horseshoe crab eggs—the birds’ Partners in Conservation It was listed as an endangered species in 1967. The Environmental Education Center, a flagship facility single-most important source of The Service recently purchased refuge’s forest management plans are designed to serving as a residential environmental education center food during their arctic-bound from The Conservation restore and protect the Delmarva fox squirrel’s habitats. for thousands of teachers, students and other participants Bombay Hook NWR flights. In recent decades, the Fund—one of the agency’s from Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Delaware. numbers of red knots visiting most important land acquisition Partners in Conservation Delaware’s shores have taken a partners—a 10-acre parcel along The Service from 1992 to 1994 acquired the Other National Wildlife Refuges in Maryland nose dive. The reasons: fewer Delaware Bay that could have Bishops Head, Spring Island, Howard, and Madison- The Eastern Neck, Martin, and Susquehanna national horseshoe crabs coming ashore to easily been turned into home lots. Ewing tracts for the Blackwater refuge through a wildlife refuges and the Patuxent Research Refuge spawn, and development along the Instead, as an addition to Prime combination of donations, grants, and purchases. The protect coves, creeks, forests, meadows, and wetlands, mid-Atlantic coast. Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Service teamed up with several including freshwater and tidal marshes. it now offers an undisturbed non-governmental organizations— Prime Hook National Wildlife stopover site for red knots and The Conservation Fund, The Refuge and Cape May National other shorebirds. What was once Nature Conservancy, and the Wildlife Refuge across the bay a vacant lot littered with trash is Chesapeake Bay Foundation—to in New Jersey are the two most now protected as some of the last acquire these lands. These Susquehanna NWR Prime Hook NWR important resting and feeding sites remaining undeveloped shoreline partners donated several tracts for red knots in the world, and thus on Delaware Bay. and contributed matching funds that helped secure a Patuxent NWR Eastern Neck NWR are crucial in helping ensure the North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant for survival of this unique bird. The Another National Wildlife Refuge land acquisition. 10,000-acre Prime Hook refuge in Delaware also provides wintering areas for Delaware’s first refuge, Bombay These acquisitions collectively protect 2,250 acres of

black ducks, whose populations Hook National Wildlife Refuge wetlands, stabilize 250 feet of eroding shoreline, and Blackwater NWR have been cut in half since the established in 1937, protects some permitted establishment of the 480-acre Chesapeake 1950s; seaside nesting places for the of the largest tracts of unaltered Bay Demonstration Forest. The forest will be used to threatened piping plover; and dunes tidal salt marsh on the eastern develop timber harvesting practices to assist in the and marshes—crucial habitat for seaboard. recovery of the Delmarva fox squirrel. Martin NWR

11 12 Conservation easements are one of the most powerful The wilderness and the idea of wilderness is one of the Virginia and effective tools we have for protecting family farms West Virginia permanent homes of the human spirit. and natural areas in Virginia. We put the power to —Joseph Wood Krutch help protect the lands we all cherish in the hands of private landowners—those who can make one of the most significant impacts on the health of our water, land and air. —Michael Lipford USFWS © John Fox

Land Protection Strategy for the Future Timberdoodle, Bogsucker and The nation’s successful efforts to bring the bald eagle Labrador Twister back from the brink of extinction are evident at The American woodcock has several Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge. odd monikers. This woodland- On a single day earlier this year, nearly 400 bald eagles dwelling bird related to sandpipers were seen on the refuge. is famous for its aerial courtship displays. First, males whistle as The Rappahannock River is a major spawning and they spiral up into the sky. They nursery area for anadromous fish, such as striped then nose dive back to earth and bass, American shad, blueback herring, and alewife. settle on the ground where they The refuge’s upland areas provide seasonal habitats sing a distinctly nasal song. They for more than 170 species of non-game birds, and do it again and again to impress thousands of ducks, geese, and swans that spend the potential mates. winter on the river. Canaan Valley is one of the most

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the USFWS important areas in the nation where refuge in 1996 to protect the outstanding fish and migrating woodcock rest and feed.

wildlife habitat in and along the river. With a land With its high altitude, wet soils, and USFWS protection goal of 20,000 acres in seven counties, to cool climate, the valley harbors date the Service has acquired nearly 8,000 acres Back Bay, Chincoteague, Eastern Shore of Virginia, a unique boreal ecosystem—a from willing sellers. Nearly 1,400 of these acres are Featherstone, Fisherman Island, Great Dismal Swamp, collection of plants and animals protected under conservation easements. These allow James River, Martin, Mason Neck, Nansemond, usually found as far north as Assisting with this acquisition Another National Wildlife Refuge in landowners to retain property rights for certain Occoquan Bay, Plum Tree Island, Presquile, and Maine. In addition to woodcock, the was The Conservation Fund, West Virginia activities such as farming, hunting, and fishing. Wallops Island national wildlife refuges protect valley protects many other wildlife whose agreements with the The Ohio River Islands National extensive tracts of forest, native grassland, barrier species, including the endangered corporation led to the long- Wildlife Refuge protects forested Partners in Conservation beach, sea-level fens, and wetlands. Virginia northern flying squirrel term protection of the land floodplain habitat and wetlands on The Service in April 2005 purchased a conservation and threatened Cheat Mountain as a part of the National 22 islands and along the river. easement on nearly 850 acres of the Wellford Farms salamander. Wildlife Refuge System. property in Warsaw, Va. With this purchase for Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Canaan Valley National Wildlife the National Wildlife Refuge System reached its half- Refuge—the nation’s 500th national Ohio River Islands NWR millionth acre milestone in the Northeast. The Nature wildlife refuge—was established in Conservancy played an instrumental role in protecting 1994 to protect the unique natural Occoquan Bay NWR Mason Neck NWR the Wellford property. Featherstone NWR communities of the Blackwater Canaan Valley NWR River wetlands. The refuge Other National Wildlife Refuges in Virginia boundary encompasses nearly Virginia’s national wildlife refuges comprise Chincoteague NWR 25,000 acres of land, and, to date, Rappahannock River Valley NWR nearly a third of the lands in the National Wallops Island NWR the Service has acquired nearly Wildlife Refuge System in the Northeast. In 16,000 acres from willing sellers. addition to Rappahannock River Valley, Partners in Conservation Presquile NWR The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service James River NWR Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR in 2002 purchased nearly 12,000 Plum Tree Island NWR Fisherman Island NWR acres of wetlands and surrounding

Nansemond NWR lands at the heart of the Canaan Back Bay NWR Valley refuge from Allegheny Great Dismal Swamp NWR Energy Service Corporation.

13 14