Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge - The Conservation Fund

Part of Blackwater NWR overlaps with the newly-designated Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument, which the Fund helped establish. The famous conductor on the Underground Railroad spent her life as a slave here and after her escape, she returned many times to bring other African Americans to freedom. Its proximity to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area brings hundreds of thousands of visitors seeking to experience the history and nature-based recreational opportunities of this special place.

SAVING AN IRREPLACEABLE RESOURCE

We’ve worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Blackwater NWR for more than a decade. Our efforts started with land acquisition, and to date we’ve added nearly 8,000 acres at the refuge, including lands that complement the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument.

But conservation at Blackwater NWR is more than just protecting land. In 2011 we helped restore 40 acres of high-priority land for the USFWS by planting 10,000 trees across 7.5 acres within the refuge’s Longfield area. As the trees mature, they will protect the marshes and other wetlands that migratory birds and forest-dwelling wildlife depend on for clean, safe water.

Among the many threats to fish and wildlife habitat within the refuge, rising sea levels resulting from climate change is the most profound. According to the USFWS, Blackwater has lost approximately 8,000 acres of wetlands to erosion and sea level rise and loses more than 300 acres of marsh each year. In 2013, The Conservation Fund and Audubon Maryland-DC published the Blackwater 2100 report, an assessment of Dorchester County’s tidal marsh loss due to sea level rise, projected through the end of the century. This collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and many other agencies and individual experts outlines key strategies for slowing the rate of loss and improving the health of Dorchester’s tidal marshes for the benefit of people and the wildlife that need this habitat for survival.

WHY THIS PROJECT MATTERS

The landscape at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is changing, and our actions today determine the fate of these treasured marsh lands. Our work at the refuge is ongoing and illustrates our long-term commitment to preserving the natural legacy of the Eastern Shore. There is much to be done to save this landscape, but with smart conservation, we’ll ensure it remains a viable wildlife refuge into the future.

Landscape, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Nikographer. Thank you to Nikographer for donating this photo. To view more of his images, visit www.nikographer.com. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge contains one-third of Maryland’s tidal wetlands.

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Delmarva Fox Squirrel Photo by Larry Meade/USFWS Headquarters, Flickr
The Delmarva fox squirrel may look like a typical backyard squirrel, but it's not: it's larger than the common gray squirrel and has been listed as an endangered species since 1967. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it was once found throughout the Delmarva Peninsula, southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, but habitat loss and fragmentation from development has decreased its range by 90 percent. That means wildlife refuges like Blackwater are one of the few safe havens for this species.

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Bald Eagles Photo by Nikographer/www.nikographer.com
Fitting with its purpose as a wildlife refuge, Blackwater has provided the necessary habitat for bald eagles to flourish here. The refuge is home to the largest breeding population of bald eagles on the East Coast, north of Florida. Although no longer listed as endangered, the population of bald eagles in the lower 48 states remains low. For more information about the bald eagle and to hear its call, visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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Red Fox Kits Photo by Nikographer. Thank you to Nikographer for donating this photo. To view more of his images, visit www.nikographer.com
Fox kits at Blackwater, a 27,000-acre national wildlife refuge located on Maryland’s scenic Eastern Shore.

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Great Blue Heron Photo by Nikographer
Can you spot the Great Blue heron? Thank you to Nikographer for donating this photo. To view more images by him, visit www.nikographer.com.

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Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Photo by Chris Koontz/Flickr
We're helping with conservation at Blackwater NWR through a variety of approaches including saving coastal wetlands, restoring native forest habitat and adding land to the refuge that will not be impacted by future water rise

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Snow Geese
Photo by Nikographer. Thank you to Nikographer for donating this photo. To view more of his images, visit www.nikographer.com. Maryland's Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge has some of the most important habitat for birds along the Atlantic Flyway, a critical migration highway.

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Sunrise At Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Nikographer. Thank you to Nikographer for donating this photo. To view more of his images, visit www.nikographer.com. Each year nearly 180,000 outdoor enthusiasts visit Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

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sand creek massacre national historic site

LEARN MORE

Marshlands at Blackwater NWR. Photo by Nikographer/www.nikographer.com

AT A GLANCE

The rich tidal marshes, freshwater ponds and mixed woodlands shelter some of the largest concentrations of canvasback and redhead ducks in the Chesapeake Bay. They also provide winter roosting and feeding habitat for wood ducks, black ducks, mallards, northern pintails and blue-winged teal.
Each year nearly 180,000 outdoor enthusiasts visit to take advantage of the land and paddling trails, educational programs, birdwatching and hunting, fishing and crabbing opportunities.

PROJECT EXPERTS

Bill Crouch
State Director, Maryland, Conservation Acquisition

PROJECT PROGRAMS

Conservation Acquisition