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- Established: 1984.
- Acres: 4,570.
- Located in Currituck Co., NC.
- Location: the refuge is located 3/4 of a mile north of Corolla, NC. NC Route 12 ends in Corolla. After the road ends proceed up the beach 3/4 of a mile to the first refuge tract.
- Refuge managed as a satellite of Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge.
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Natural History
- Refuge is found in the northern portion of Currituck Sound on an Outer Banks barrier island. Some tracts transition from the Atlantic Ocean to Currituck Sound which include sandy beaches, grassy dunes, maritime forests, shrub thickets, and fresh and brackish marshes.
- Concentrations of wading birds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptors with a variety of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Piping plover and loggerhead sea turtles occasionally nest on the refuge.
- Wetlands 2,033 acres; Woodlands 778 acres; Brush 874 acres; Beach 418 acres.
Financial Impact of the Refuge
- 19,000 visitors annually.
- Managed as a satellite of Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge with no assigned staff or budget.
Refuge Objectives
- Protect and improve the last remaining habitat of the endangered or threatened piping plover, loggerhead sea turtle and seabeach amaranth.
- Actively manage and improve the interdunal flats for wintering waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds through discing, planting and a proactive water management plan.
- Pursue an active land acquisition program on the Outer Banks.
- Through various techniques, develop a database and working knowledge on neotropical bird use.
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