- Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
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Black-tailed Deer, seen on Spit Trail, 2008
The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is located near the town of Sequim in Clallam County in the U.S. state of Washington, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The refuge is composed of 631 acres (2.55 km2) which include Dungeness Spit, Graveyard Spit, and portions of Dungeness Bay and Harbor. Dungeness Spit is one of the world's longest natural sand spits, 5½ miles long and very narrow. [1] A lighthouse, built in 1857, is located near the end of the spit. Access to Dungeness Spit is through a Clallam County Park which has hiking trails, picnic areas, and a campground.
Contents
Wildlife and Habitat
Cakile maritima (European Searocket), Dungeness Spit near Dungeness Harbor shore, 2008.The Refuge provides habitat for a variety of wildlife species with more than 250 species of birds and 41 species of land mammals that call the Refuge “home” for some part of their life. 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. A number of species of waterfowl stop briefly in the Dungeness area each fall on their way 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.
Recreation
The main 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.
References
External links
Media related to Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- History, flora, and fauna, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
- http://www.visitsun.com/dungeness
- http://www.newdungenesslighthouse.com
Protected Areas of Washington Federal National ParksNational MonumentsEbey's Landing National Historical Reserve · Fairhaven Historic District · Pioneer Square Historic District · Vancouver National Historic Reserve Historic District
National Recreation AreasNational Wildlife RefugesColumbia · Conboy Lake · Copalis · Dungeness · Flattery Rocks · Franz Lake · Grays Harbor · Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer · Lewis and Clark · Little Pend Oreille · McNary · Nisqually · Pierce · Protection Island · Quillayute Needles · Ridgefield · Saddle Mountain · San Juan Islands · Steigerwald Lake · Toppenish · Turnbull · Umatilla · Willapa
National WildernessAlpine Lakes · Boulder River · Brothers · Buckhorn · Clearwater · Colonel Bob · Glacier Peak · Glacier View · Goat Rocks · Henry M. Jackson · Indian Heaven · Juniper Dunes · Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Ridge · Mount Adams · Mount Baker · Mount Rainier · Mount Skokomish · Noisy-Diobsud · Norse Peak · Olympic · Pasayten · Salmo-Priest · San Juan · Stephen Mather · Tatoosh · Trapper Creek · Washington Islands · Wenaha–Tucannon · Wild Sky · William O. Douglas · Wonder Mountain
State Alta Lake · Anderson Lake · Battle Ground Lake · Bay View · Beacon Rock · Belfair · Birch Bay · Blake Island · Blind Island · Bogachiel · Bottle Beach · Bridgeport · Bridle Trails · Brooks Memorial · Cama Beach · Camano Island · Camp Wooten Environmental Learning Center · Cape Disappointment · Centennial Trail · Clark Island · Columbia Hills · Columbia Plateau Trail · Conconully · Crawford · Curlew Lake · Cutts Island · Damon Point · Daroga · Dash Point · Deception Pass · Dosewallips · Doug's Beach · Eagle Island · Fay Bainbridge · Federation Forest · Fields Spring · Flaming Geyser · Fort Casey · Fort Columbia · Fort Ebey · Fort Flagler · Fort Okanogan · Fort Simcoe · Fort Townsend · Fort Ward · Fort Worden · Ginkgo Petrified Forest · Goldendale Observatory · Grayland Beach · Griffin Bay · Griffiths-Priday · Harstine Island · Hope Island (Mason County) · Hope Island (Skagit County) · Ike Kinswa · Illahee · Iron Horse · James Island · Jarrell Cove · Joemma Beach · Jones Island · Joseph Whidbey · Kanaskat-Palmer · Kinney Point · Kitsap Memorial · Kopachuck · Lake Chelan · Lake Easton · Lake Sammamish · Lake Sylvia · Lake Wenatchee · Larrabee · Leadbetter Point · Lewis and Clark · Lewis and Clark Trail · Lime Kiln Point · Lincoln Rock · Manchester · Maryhill · Matia Island · McMicken Island · Millersylvania · Moran · Mount Pilchuck · Mount Spokane · Mystery Bay · Nine Mile Recreation Area · Nolte · Ocean City · Olallie · Olmstead Place · Osoyoos Lake · Pacific Beach · Pacific Pines · Palouse Falls · Paradise Point · Patos Island · Peace Arch · Pearrygin Lake · Penrose Point · Peshastin Pinnacles · Pleasant Harbor · Posey Island · Potholes · Potlatch · Rainbow Falls · Rasar · Reed Island · Riverside · Rockport · Sacajawea · Saint Edward · Saltwater · Scenic Beach · Schafer · Seaquest · Sequim Bay · Shine Tidelands · Skagit Island · Skull Island · South Whidbey · Spencer Spit · Squak Mountain · Squilchuck · Steamboat Rock · Steptoe Battlefield · Steptoe Butte · Stretch Point · Stuart Island · Sucia Island · Sun Lakes · Tolmie · Triton Cove · Turn Island · Twanoh · Twenty-Five Mile Creek · Twin Harbors · Upright Channel · Wallace Falls · Wanapum Recreational Area · Wenatchee Confluence · Westport Light · Yakima Sportsman
Ahtanum · Capitol · Elbe Hills · Green Mountain · Loomis · Loup Loup · Tahoma · Tahuya · Tiger Mountain · Yacolt Burn
Admiralty Inlet · Badger Gulch · Bald Hill · Barker Mountain · Bone River · Camas Meadows · Carlisle Bog · Castle Rock · Charley Creek · Chehalis River Surge Plain · Chopaka Mountain · Clearwater Bogs · Cleveland Shrub Steppe · Columbia Falls · Columbia Hills · Cypress Highlands · Dabob Bay · Dailey Prairie · Davis Canyon · Entiat Slopes · Goose Island · Gunpowder Island · Kahlotus Ridgetop · Kennedy Creek · Kings Lake Bog · Kitsap Forest · Little Pend Oreille River · Marcellus Shrub Steppe · Methow Rapids · Mima Mounds · Monte Cristo · Niawiakum River · North Bay · Oak Patch · Olivine Bridge · Pinecroft · Point Doughty · Riverside Breaks · Rocky Prairie · Sand Island · Schumacher Creek · Selah Cliffs · Skagit Bald Eagle · Skookum Inlet · Snoqualmie Bog · Spring Creek Canyon · Trout Lake · The Two-Steppe · Upper Dry Gulch · Washougal Oaks Natural Area · Whitcomb Flats · Willapa Divide
Cattle Point · Clearwater Corridor · Cypress Island · Devils Lake · Dishman Hills · Elk River · Ellsworth Creek · Granite Lakes · Hat Island · Hendrickson Canyon · Klickitat Canyon · Lake Louise · Loomis · Lummi Island · Merrill Lake · Morning Star · Mount Si · Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area · Shipwreck Point · South Nemah · South Nolan · Stavis · Table Mountain · Tahoma Forest · Teal Slough · Washougal Oaks Natural Area · West Tiger Mountain · White Salmon Oak · Woodard Bay
Other Former state parksLyons Ferry Park · Mukilteo Lighthouse Park · Wenberg County Park
Blanchard Forest · Cascadia Marine Trail · The Enchantments · Goose Island · Sehome Hill Arboretum · Withrow Moraine · Yellow Island
Coordinates: 48°5′20.6″N 123°14′29″W / 48.089056°N 123.24139°W
Categories:- National Wildlife Refuges in Washington (state)
- Protected areas of Clallam County, Washington
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