Features
Wading Birds
In late fall and winter, look for long-legged waders like roseate spoonbills and white ibis in shallow ponds.
Whistling Ducks at Nestbox
You may hear whistlers before you see them. These ducks can also be seen at the ponds in Audubon Park in New Orleans.
Learn more about the black-bellied whistling duck
Wood Stork
Bayou Sauvage is a winter home for this relatively rare wading bird, the only stork native to North America.
Learn more about the wood stork
Christmas Trees Get a Second Life in the Marsh
Each year in New Orleans, Christmas trees collected after the holidays are airlifted into the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge as part of the annual Christmas Tree Drop. These dead trees will get a new life, helping protect the marsh from erosion.
Annual Christmas Tree DropAbout the Complex
Since 1996, a 110-acre site in Lacombe, Louisiana, has served as the headquarters complex for eight national wildlife refuges in the southeast region, including Bayou Sauvage NWR.
Bayou Sauvage is managed as part of the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex.
Learn more about the complex About the NWRS
The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife, and plants.
Learn more about the NWRS
An Urban Oasis
A marsh restoration project will cause temporary closures of portions of Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) from August 31, 2016, through September 2018. The purpose of this closure is to ensure visitor and contractor safety.
More about the Bayou Sauvage marsh restoration project 
Herons and egrets silhouetted against a city skyline - such is the dual nature of Bayou Sauvage Refuge. Established in 1990, the 24,000 acres of fresh and brackish marsh are within the city limits of New Orleans making it one of the nation’s largest urban refuges. While Bayou Sauvage shows the obvious influence of human alterations and development it also demonstrates that valuable wildlife habitat can exist on the edge of a large city.
Dual Nature of Bayou Sauvage
Calling all 4th graders. Want a free pass for you and your family to all federal parks, lands, and waters for the year. Vist Every Kid in a Park to claim your free pass - good until August 2017.
Visit the Every Kid in a Park Website
With 80 percent of Americans living in cities, how do we connect urban America with our wild places, such as national wildlife refuges?
Learn more
Page Photo Credits — All photos courtesy of USFWS unless otherwise noted., American Alligator - USFWS, Aerial View - ©LA ANG, Egret - ©Tom Carlisle, Urban Refuge - Wade Hardy
Last Updated: Dec 08, 2016