----Refuge Manger Mike Brady shows children from Chatham Rec. Center how to tag horseshoe crabs.

----Children search for horseshoe crabs to tag.

----Children tag crabs and collect data.

Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge used the assistance of numerous local schools and youth organizations to tag almost 500 horseshoe crabs for the 2007 field season.  The refuge tags about 500 crabs every year with about 20-25 re-sightings annually.  This year refuge staff worked to incorporate children from surrounding areas; the town of Chatham's after school Rec. Youth Center, the town of Provincetown's 9^th grade biology class and the town of Brewster's Cub Scouts Pack 72. 

The children had an opportunity to observe, hold and tag horseshoe crabs.  Refuge staff educated the youth on the plight of the horseshoe crab, as well as the importance of horseshoe crab eggs to the conservation of shorebirds.  Monomoy Refuge is a designated Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network Regional Site (WSHRN).  Therefore, horseshoe crabs play an important role in the success of shorebirds at Monomoy NWR.