Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge

The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is located along the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, Washington. President Woodrow Wilson established the Refuge on January 20, 1915 by Executive Order as a refuge, preserve, and breeding ground for native birds. Eelgrass beds and tide flats teem with migrating shorebirds in spring and fall; flocks of waterfowl find food and rest in these protected waters during the winter; eel grass beds also provide a nursery for young salmon and steelhead. The Refuge currently consists of 636 acres, including a sand spit, second-class tidelands and bay, and a small forested upland area. Dungeness NWR boasts one of the world's longest natural sand spits, which softens the rough sea waves to form a quiet bay and harbor, gravel beaches, and tide flats. Dungeness Spit is one of only a few such geological formations in the world which was formed during the Vashon Glacial era ten to twenty thousand years ago.

Wildlife and Habitat

The Refuge provides habitat for a wide diversity of wildlife species – more than 250 species of birds and 41 species of land mammals call the Refuge “home” for some part of their life cycle. The bay and estuary of the Dungeness River supports waterfowl, shorebirds, water waders, shellfish, and harbor seals. Anadromous fish like Chinook, Coho, pink and chum salmon occur in the waters of Dungeness Bay and Harbor. Numerous species of waterfowl stop briefly in the Dungeness area each fall on their journey south for the winter and again when they head north in the spring. Many species of waterfowl winter in the area. Dungeness Bay and Harbor support black brant, present from late October through early May, with peak numbers of approximately 3,000-5,000 in April. Shorebirds and water waders feed and rest along the water’s edge. Harbor seals haul out to rest and give birth to pups on the end of Dungeness Spit. The tideflats support crabs, clams, and other shellfish.

Dungeness NWR is recognized as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society (http://wa.audubon.org/science_IBAWashington.html). The Refuge is internationally significant because many of the birds that stop here breed as far north as Alaska and migrate as far south as South America. The Dungeness area is additionally important as a spring staging area (a place where large groups of birds stop to build up their fat reserves for migration) for black brant and other waterfowl. Canada, Mexico, and the United States have implemented international treaties to ensure that migratory birds are protected and managed on a continental basis.

Recreation

The main wildlife-dependent activities occurring on the Refuge are wildlife observation and photography, and wildlife education and interpretation. To ensure that wildlife continue to have a place to rest and feed, some recreational activities such as jogging, swimming, and other beach activities are allowed only in selected areas during certain times of the year.

Pets, bicycles, kites, frisbees, boomerangs, and balls are not allowed on the Refuge as they are a disturbance for the many migrating birds and other wildlife taking solitude on the Refuge. Harbor seals and their pups rest on Refuge shores and should not be approached or disturbed. Disturbing or removing plants, animals, driftwood, rocks, fossils, or artifacts is prohibited.

Education

Many scout groups and school groups from grade school to university come to our Refuge for educational field trips. These groups often help us by doing service projects like keeping our Refuge clean of Styrofoam, plastics, and other debris. We provide interpretive and educational programs that compliment their lesson plans.

In 1990 the Service designated Graveyard Spit as a Research Natural Area (RNA) due to its unique native vegetation. The Service defines RNAs as areas where natural processes are allowed to predominate without human intervention. Activities on RNAs are limited to research, study, observation, monitoring, and educational activities that are non-destructive, non-manipulative, and maintain unmodified conditions.