• Area was historically used for market waterfowl hunting, commercial fishing, farming, and
  livestock operations.
  
• Refuge is comprised of ocean beach, dunes, upland, fresh and brackish water ponds, salt flats, and salt marsh.
• Bird list boasts more than 365 species; wildlife list has 25 species of mammals, 24 species of reptiles, and 5 species (low number due to salt environment) of amphibians.
  
• Concentrations of ducks, geese, swans, wading birds, shore birds, raptors, neotropical migrants are seasonally abundant on refuge.
  
• Refuge has 1,000 acres of manageable waterfowl impoundments.
  
• Several shorebird nesting areas and wading bird rookeries are located on the refuge.
  
• Endangered and threatened species include: peregrine falcons, loggerhead sea turtles, and piping plovers.

Financial Impact of the Refuge

• 36-person staff (administers both Pea Island and Alligator River National Wildlife Refuges - see Alligator River Home Page for details....)
  
• 2.7 million visitors annually.
  
• Current budget (FY 03) $2,827K (Again, both refuges)
  
• Numerous volunteers devote approximately 35,000 hours each year to the Refuge
  
• Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is known as a ''Birder's Paradise''; birders are among the most affluent eco-tourists. Other eco-tourists include canoeists and kayakers, beachcombers, surf and sound anglers, and nature photographers.

Refuge Objectives

• Provide nesting, resting, and wintering habitat for migratory birds, including the greater snow geese and other migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, and neotropical migrants.
  
• Provide habitat and protection for endangered and threatened species.
  
• Provide opportunities for public enjoyment of wildlife and wildlands resources. Public use programs focus on interpretation, environmental education, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and fishing.