Block Island National Wildlife Refuge

Block Island National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	Washington County, Rhode Island, United States
Nearest city	New Shoreham, Rhode Island
Coordinates	41°13′25″N 71°34′31″W / 41.22371°N 71.57533°W / 41.22371; -71.57533^[1]Coordinates: 41°13′25″N 71°34′31″W / 41.22371°N 71.57533°W / 41.22371; -71.57533^[2]
Area	127 acres (0.51 km²)
Established	1973
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Block Island National Wildlife Refuge

Located approximately 12 miles (19 km) offshore on picturesque Block Island, the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge provides important habitat for wildlife, and a place for people to appreciate the natural environment of the island. The refuge was established in 1973 with the transfer of 28 acres (110,000 m²) from the U.S. Coast Guard, and has grown to its current size of 127 acres (0.51 km²) today.

Block Island National Wildlife Refuge is administered as part of the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which manages all five of the National Wildlife Refuges in Rhode Island, and is headquartered in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

Refuge lands on Block Island are most notable for the large concentration (over 70 species) of migratory songbirds which visit the area each fall. Located in the Atlantic flyway, many young, inexperienced songbirds "overfly" the mainland and stopover on Block Island before continuing their migration. The result is a cornucopia of young migratory songbirds from a variety of different species. Block Island is internationally recognized as one of the most important migratory bird habitats on the east Coast, attracting hundreds of "birders" to the Island each fall.

The refuge also provides habitat for the Endangered American Burying Beetle, supporting the only population of this species known east of the Mississippi River. Piping plover occur on the Island (a threatened species) as do four other State species of concern. The refuge is also home to the largest gull colony in Rhode Island.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Protected areas of Rhode Island

Federal	Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park Block Island National Wildlife Refuge Chafee National Wildlife Refuge Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge Touro Synagogue National Historic Site Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge Roger Williams National Memorial

State Parks	Beavertail Blackstone River Bikeway Brenton Point Burlingame Colt Fishermen's Memorial Fort Adams Fort Wetherill Goddard Memorial Haines Memorial Lincoln Woods Pulaski Rocky Point Snake Den World War II Memorial

State Beaches	Charlestown Breachway East Beach East Matunuck Misquamicut Roger Wheeler Salty Brine Scarborough

State Forests	Lincoln Woods George Washington Memorial Wickaboxet

Other protected areas	Arcadia Management Area East Bay Bike Path Ell Pond George Washington State Campground

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.