Willapa National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...

 located on the shores of Willapa Bay

Willapa Bay

Willapa Bay is a bay located on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state in the United States. The Long Beach Peninsula separates Willapa Bay from the greater expanse of the Pacific Ocean. With over of water surface Willapa Bay is the second largest estuary on the United States Pacific coast...

 in Washington, USA. It comprises 11000 acres (44.5 km²) of sand dunes, sand beaches, mud flats, grasslands, saltwater and freshwater marshes, and coniferous forest. The refuge includes Long Island

Long Island (Washington)

Long Island is an uninhabited island lying in the southern part of Willapa Bay in Pacific County, Washington, USA. It is the site of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. The island has a land area of 21.666 km² .-References:* United...

 with stands of old growth Western red cedar

Thuja plicata

Thuja plicata, commonly called Western or pacific red cedar, giant or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America...

 and hemlock

Tsuga

Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....

.

Wildlife and habitat

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge preserves many of unique ecosystems including salt marshes, muddy tideflats, rain drenched old growth forests, and coastal dunes and beaches. Freshwater marshes and grasslands are found along the southern shore of Willapa Bay.

Visitors to the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge can enjoy viewing a wide variety of wildlife. Roosevelt elk, black bear, shorebirds, and spawning salmon are just a few of the many species that reside on the Refuge. The refuge is home to several endangered and threatened species including the snowy plover, marbled murrelets, and brown pelican. Other birds that are commonly spotted throughout the refuge include bald eagles, great blue herons, peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks, marsh wrens, and golden-crowned kinglets.

Management activities

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge deals with a number of unique challenges. While it contains many pristine areas, it also includes many recent acquisitions where considerable restoration efforts are needed. It includes a vast diversity of habitats from ocean sand dune beaches to the sheltered mudflats of the bay, from pristine old growth forests to open saltgrass meadows. The refuge is home to several threatened and endangered species and is trying to restore habitat for many others. Like many places, Willapa NWR is also coping with the threat of invasive species.

External links

• Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge