BACK BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
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Back Bay is one of over 500 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is a network of lands and waters managed specifically for the protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat and represents the most comprehensive wildlife management program in the world. Units of the system stretch across the United States from northern Alaska to the Florida Keys and include small islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific. The character of the refuges is as diverse as the nation itself.
The Service also manages National Fish Hatcheries, and provides Federal leadership in habitat protection, fish and wildlife research, technical assistance and the conservation and protection of migratory birds, certain marine mammals and threatened and endangered species.
For further information
Contact:
Refuge Manager
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
4005 Sandpiper Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23456-4325
Telephone: (757) 721-2412
and/or via: e-mail
Hearing impaired visitors may call the Virginia Relay Center at
1-800-828-1120 TDD/1-800-828-1140 voice.
Table of ContentsBack Bay Refuge contains 7,732 acres, situated on and around a thin strip of coastline typical of barrier islands found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Habitats include beach, dunes, woodland, farm fields, and marsh. The majority of refuge marshlands are on islands contained within the waters of Back Bay. Since 1939, an additional 4,600 acres of Bay waters within the refuge boundary have been closed to migratory bird hunting by Presidential Proclamation. To assure long-term protection for waterfowl and other wetland-dependent species, the Fish & Wildlife Service is working to acquire additional wetland habitat in the Back Bay area.
Approximately 10,000 snow geese and a large variety of ducks visit Back Bay Refuge during the peak of fall migration, usually in December. The refuge also provides habitat for a wide assortment of other wildlife, including threatened and endangered species such as loggerhead sea turtles, piping plovers, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles.
Table of ContentsThe Back Bay area has long been famous as a wildfowler's paradise where once large concentrations of wintering waterfowl and shorebirds could be found. Before refuge establishment, the Princess Anne and Ragged Island Hunting Clubs occupied the site. Other well-known hunt clubs in the Back Bay area include the Dudley Island Club, the False Cape Gunning Club, the Cedar Island Club, and the Back Bay Gunning Club. Many of these hunt clubs were founded in the late 1800s and attracted wealthy professionals from as far away as New York and Philadelphia.
Waterfowl numbers throughout North America have drastically declined in recent years. To help rebuild goose and duck populations, the United States, Canada, and Mexico signed the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Working together with the private sector under this plan will help protect and manage critical breeding, staging, and wintering areas for waterbirds of all types throughout the continent.
Table of ContentsBack Bay Refuge habitats support a wide variety of plant and animal life. Marshlands, which include more than 75 percent of the refuge, are found within several large impoundments and on the Bay islands. This productive, protected marshland contains valuable wildlife food plants such as three-square, smartweed, and spikerushes.
The shifting sands of the barrier beach are constantly exposed to ocean waves, currents, and tides. No vegetation can withstand these powerful forces, but ghost crabs, gulls, and migrating shorebirds are common here. Sand dunes form a line of defense, protecting marsh and woodlands from high tides and storms. Like the beach, the dunes are exposed to the powerful forces of nature. However, dunes are able to support vegetation which helps to stabilize the sandy soil.
Wax myrtle, highbush blueberry, bayberry, wild black cherry, and persimmon dominate refuge shrublands. Woodlands consist mostly of live oak and loblolly pines. Shrubland and woodland habitats are found in areas of higher elevation, where the soil is well drained and the harsh effects of the ocean are not as dramatic. Raptors, rabbits, squirrels, and deer are commonly found here.
Edges between major habitats, such as between land and sea, are places where wildlife is most active. In fact, coastal barrier habitats are thought to harbor a greater variety of bird species that any other ecosystem in the continental United States. In many cases, this diversity occurs within an extremely narrow area. At the refuge, for instance, the distance to the ocean from Back Bay is no more than one mile.
Table of ContentsNearly 300 species of birds have been observed at Back Bay Refuge. During the fall and winter months, large flocks of waterfowl use the Bay and freshwater impoundments. Snow and Canada geese, tundra swans, and many duck species are abundant. Each year, waterfowl numbers rise and fall in response to weather conditions, farming practices, and reproductive success. Migrating songbirds and shorebirds arrive at the refuge each spring. Brightly colored warblers dot shrub and woodland areas while shorebirds line the intertidal zone and search for food in shallow waters.
The varied habitats at Back Bay Refuge provide food and cover for mammals such as river otters, white-tailed deer, mink, opossums, raccoons, and the redfox. Nutria, introduced to the United States from South America in the early 1900's are common in refuge marshlands. Other non-native species include feral horses and pigs. These animals compete with native species for food and cover, and are responsible for negative impacts to the managed environment. Nutria damage dikes through burrowing activity; pigs uproot valuable marsh vegetation; and horses trample plants and litter the area with their droppings.
Many types of reptiles and amphibians occur at Back Bay Refuge. Snakes, including poisonous cottonmouths, are frequently seen. Other common snakes include brown and northern water snakes, black rat snakes and eastern hognose snakes. On warm, sunny days, turtles line up on logs and bask at the water's edge. Red-bellied, painted, eastern mud, and snapping turtles are most common.
Wildlife managers constantly work to improve the quality of wildlife habitat. Even though refuge wetlands have a natural appearance, most areas are intensely managed for use by waterfowl and other native wildlife. Management actions create divers habitats to encourage use by many wildlife species.
Habitat management at Back Bay Refuge includes water level manipulation, prescribed burning, plowing, discing, dike construction, chemical control. As you travel through the refuge you will see how habitats have been modified. Look for burned-over areas, water control structures, signed or cabled closed areas, and marsh areas which have been deliberately disturbed to prevent woody plant growth. Waterfowl, especially, thrive on marshes containing succulent plant growth with few upland species.